A Family Affair
by Brightest Firefly
Summary: COMPLETE. Ryan and Lindsay. Lab partners or a couple? Caleb tries to mend things with his daughters. Summer and Zack have problems and Alex is losing interest in Seth. What will happen on New Years Eve when the Cohen-Cooper-Nichol family all come together
1. Heart to Heart at the Pier

A few days after the chaotic Chrismukkah, Ryan lied on his bed, trying to make sense of everything. Lindsay was his foster mother's sister, so sort of his aunt, though not by blood. Still, they belonged to the same family. Were they together? If they were, what if they broke up? Did Lindsay even want to be with him anymore? And regardless of their romantic relationship or lack thereof, they would still be lab partners for the rest of the year.

The door swung open, breaking Ryan from his thoughts. "Morning, Ryan. Or should I say…Uncle Ryan?"

Ryan gave Seth a confused and disgusted look. "Uncle?"

"Well, Lindsay is my aunt, Lindsay is your girlfriend, so if that works out…" Seth sat down beside Ryan and threw an arm around his shoulder, "Welcome to the family once again, Uncle Ryan."

Ryan groaned and shrugged Seth's arm off. "That's disgusting."

"That's true, but it's our family. The Cohen-Nichol-Cooper-Gardners...or something like that. Wait, I'm not related to Summer, am I?"

Ryan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't think so. Not yet anyway."

Seth nodded. "But you my friend, not only are you dating my aunt, your ex-girlfriend is my step-aunt. Are you gonna go after Hailey next?"

Ryan shrugged. "She is pretty hot."

Seth smacked the back of his head. "Dude, that's gross."

Ryan laughed at Seth's expression. "Kidding. She's the only one who actually feels like my aunt. That would be weird."

"So what are you and Lindsay right now? Are you guys together, or just friends, or 'lab partners' or spank buddies…?"

Ryan shrugged. "Not sure."

"Do you still want to see her naked?"

Ryan's first instinct was to glare at him or smack him, but instead he opted to play the incest card. "Seth, you're talking about your aunt."

Seth choked and dramatically gagged, then abruptly stopped and turned to Ryan. "I'll take that as a yes."

Ryan threw a pillow as Seth got up to leave the room, but his bright, embarrassed smile was a dead give away.

"I think I'm gonna go play some Halo. Join me if you feel so inclined."

Ryan nodded, but decided to stay in his room and try and sort things out in his mind. He picked up the phone, debating about whether or not he should call Lindsay. As much as he wanted to talk to her, he thought that giving her space would be the best option. She'd talk to him when she was ready. Right?

In the meantime, a walk down to the pier seemed like the way to go. He stood looking out over the water and let his mind wander. He thought about his father going to prison, his mother leaving him, when he first came to live with the Cohens, and when he'd first felt like he could actually make something of himself. He thought of Theresa and wondered how she and her mother were doing. He thought of the baby they'd lost and though it broke his heart, he had to admit he was glad he was able to come home. He'd missed his friends, his family, and had he stayed in Chino, he never would have met Lindsay.

* * *

"Brooding again?" a very feminine voice asked from behind Ryan. She took a step to lean against the edge beside him.

"Summer," he said with a smile, and without thinking about what he was doing, he reached out to hug her.

"Good to see you too Chino. Everything okay?" She certainly didn't mind being hugged by him, in fact, she was touched by the gesture, but she was a bit confused. "How's Lindsay?"

He stepped back and his expression immediately fell. "I don't really know."

"Have you talked to her since Chrismukkah?"

"No," he paused in thought for a moment. "Thank you for doing what you did with the lights and the tree and the Cohens and all that. You guys really didn't have to do that."

"I know," she replied with a smile. "But we wanted to."

Ryan noted the fact that she had said _we _rather than _I._ Marissa had surprised him over the last few months. He never thought that they could truly be just friends, but it was beginning to look like that was just what they were.

"Are you going to call her soon?" Summer prodded.

"I don't know if I should. She's going through a lot and since she just found out she's part of the Cohens' family, and I'm part of that family, I figured I should give her some space."

Summer nodded, seeing how torn and worried Ryan was. "What if I call her?"

Ryan looked at her strangely.

"You know, see if she wants to hang out. We'll have a girl's night. Me, her, and Coop."

"Really? Do you think Marissa would be okay with that?"

Summer shrugged slightly, then nodded. "She cares about you, and you care about Lindsay. Besides, she's her step-sister."

Ryan smiled. "I care about her too. She knows that, right? I mean, Lindsay's my girlfriend…maybe, hopefully…but I still love Marissa. Just not in the same way that I used to."

"I think she knows," Summer replied, debating about whether she should say anything else. "I think she feels the same way about you."

Ryan's smile assured her that telling him was a good thing. "Thanks." He stood there awkwardly for a moment. "So you and Seth seem to be doing the friends thing pretty well too."

Summer brightened at the mention of Seth's name, but fell slightly when he said "friends." "Yeah, it's been really fun hanging out with you guys. I think he's really changing."

"Maybe. Or maybe you're realizing that you've loved him, self-centeredness and all, all along. You just needed time to forgive him."

Summer rolled her eyes. "I'm with Zach. Seth was my first love, but now he's just my friend."

Ryan held back laughter. "Uh huh." He chuckled softly.

"Chino!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell him."

She sighed, resigning to the fact that yet another person could plainly see her love for Seth which she'd desperately been trying to hide.

"He loves you too, you know."

Her face lit up as she turned to him. "He does? What about that girl…Alex?"

"She seems cool to me. She distracts him. They're pretty good friends. He's having fun hanging out with her. And yeah, she's attractive…"

"Okay, not helping Chino!"

"But she's not you."

"Oh," she replied softly.

"Just like Zach isn't Seth."

Summer looked up at him, the realization hitting her hard. She liked Zach, really she did, but ever since Seth kissed her at the concert, she'd known that Zach wasn't the one for her, and it was quite possible that Seth Cohen was.

"I have to head back. See you later?"

"Yeah…thanks Chino. It was good to talk to you."

He gave her one last reassuring and grateful smile. "You too."


	2. Girls' Night

It was December 28th and Lindsay hadn't left her house since the Chrismukkah party, despite her mom's efforts to take her out and cheer her up. She sat in her room reading, and was making an obscene number of red dots at the bottom of each page. She finally gave up and decided to do some journaling. As she put the pen to the page, she hesitated, not knowing where to start.

Her father was not Mark Gardner, a man who had to leave his wife and daughter because his "patriotic duties" demanded it. Looking back, she knew the only reason she had ever believed it was because she wanted to.

In reality, her father was a man who had cheated on his wife with her mother, impregnated her, and then paid the due child support to keep them out of his "perfect" life. She was just an "error" in Caleb's judgement, a mistake, something he always regretted having done.

Then there was Ryan. His foster mother was her half sister, his ex-girlfriend was her stepsister and his best friend and for all practical purposes, his brother, was her nephew. Despite the incestuousness of it all, her feelings for Ryan hadn't changed, and since there was no blood relation, there was no reason they needed to. His family was the remaining issue. Kirsten and the rest of the Cohens seemed really nice, but it was all so weird. For all she knew, Ryan was freaked out by the whole thing and didn't have any interest in her anymore. She'd never understood why he did in the first place.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the telephone blaring beside her. She quickly picked it up to stop the offensive noise. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lindsay?"

The voice on the other end of the line was somewhat disappointing, and somewhat a relief. It wasn't Ryan, but it also wasn't Caleb. It was a female, and the voice was familiar but she couldn't place it. "Yeah?"

"This is Summer. I was just calling to see if you maybe wanted to hang out tomorrow night. Me and Coop…er…Marissa, are having a girls' night at my house and we thought it'd be really cool if you could come."

"I'd love to! But is Marissa really okay with me being there? I know she and Ryan have this history-"

"She wants to get to know her step-sister. And she's over Ryan." Summer wasn't entirely sure about the second part, but for the sake of everyone involved, she hoped she was right.

"Okay. Well that'd be really great. When?"

"My house tomorrow night at 7."

Lindsay was a bit overwhelmed by the idea, but she was looking forward to getting out of the house and away from all the thoughts about her father. "Can I bring anything?"

"Just whatever you need for a sleepover. I've got the snacks covered, but if you have any movies you wanna bring or anything like that, that'd be awesome."

"Okay, great." There was an awkward pause. Both girls knew they were forgetting something but the couldn't figure out what it was.

"Oh!" Summer exclaimed, causing Lindsay to jump. "My address. Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

Lindsay looked down at the thoughts she'd just written about Caleb, and angrily tore that page out of her journal. "Yeah, I've got some scratch paper handy."

Summer gave her the address, along with instructions that Lindsay didn't think she'd be able to follow. _Go past the mall, towards school, and when you get to that one street that's name is, like, some kind of flower, turn left. You'll go past a bunch of houses, and when you pass this one that looks really creepy and is painted this really ugly color, take the next right and it's the second to last house on that block.

* * *

_

Shortly after 7 o'clock the next night, Lindsay had by some miracle, found Summer's house. Marissa's car was already in the driveway and as Lindsay walked up to the door, she couldn't help but notice how pathetic her car looked next to Marissa's. _Oh well, _she shrugged, repeating to herself that she would never get caught up in things like that. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

A woman who appeared too young and too much of a mess to be Summer's mother opened the door. She wore a T-shirt that was a few sizes too small and sweat pants. She had a tall glass of wine clutched in her hand and a fake smile was plastered on her face. For a moment she just stared at Lindsay, looking extremely confused.

"Hi, I'm Lindsay. Summer's friend?"

The woman's confused faced snapped into recognition. "The girls are upstairs," she said, gesturing toward a huge spiral staircase.

As soon as Lindsay reached the top of the stairs, she panicked. There were so many doors, and she was afraid of what might lurk behind some of them. Luckily Summer jumped out before had time to think about it. "Sorry about the step-monster," Summer said quietly, pulling Lindsay into her room where Marissa was examining her butt in the mirror. "We were changing and I didn't get down there in time to intercept."

"It's okay," Lindsay replied, placing her backpack on the floor.

"We both decided to go ahead and get in our pajamas, so if you want to change, you can use my bathroom."

"Okay, thanks." Lindsay stooped down to get her bag, and retreated to the bathroom to change.

Lindsay began to wonder if Marissa didn't want her there, because she had yet to look away from the mirror. She still hadn't said anything, but had now lifted up her tank top to examine her stomach. Summer took note of this as well, but didn't suspect the same motives that Lindsay did. "Coop, what are you doing?"

Marissa quickly turned from the mirror and flashed Summer a smile. "Nothing." Seeing that Summer clearly didn't believe her, she changed the subject. "So what's the plan for tonight?"

Lindsay emerged from the bathroom in a blue tank top and blue flannel pants with stars and moons on them. Summer and Marissa were in similar attire. Summer's pants were black and white with lips on them and said "hot stuff," all over. Marissa's had a red and pink heart design. Lindsay gave Summer an unsure smile and Marissa's gaze darted around the room refusing to meet Summer's or Lindsay's eyes. Summer knew it was up to her to break the awkwardness of the moment. "We could make some popcorn and watch a movie."

"Sure," Lindsay said with a smile, relieved that for an hour or two, she wouldn't have to worry about what to say.

Marissa tried her best to smile, but it was quite weak. "So what do you guys want to watch?"

"I brought a few movies," Lindsay said, pulling them out of her backpack and handing them to Marissa.

Marissa looked through them, stopping abruptly and quickly looked at Summer before turning to Lindsay. "How about this? Marissa triumphantly held out The Best of Friends: Season 2. "Coop!" Summer argued, but it was useless, so she got up to put it in the DVD player.

Lindsay watched the exchange with confusion, and Marissa whispered to her, "Ross and Rachel. Seth and Summer. I just hope it doesn't take her a decade to figure that out."

Lindsay nodded and smiled at Marissa, thankful for the friendly interaction. From what Seth had told her about his history with Summer, there were quite a few parallels.

Just as the show was beginning, Summer's cell phone rang. She looked down at the Caller ID and looked puzzled. She stepped into the next room to answer it. "Hello?"

"Summer?" The voice was soft, friendly, and it took a few seconds, but Summer recognized it.

"Anna!" Both Marissa and Lindsay ran into the room when they heard her shout. "You're in Newport?"

"Yeah, I came here to spend Christmas with my family and I thought I'd see what you guys were up to."

"Marissa, Lindsay and I are having a girls' night in. You should come over!" Summer was a bit surprised at how happy she was to hear from Anna.

"Who's Lindsay?"

Summer didn't know whether to say Ryan's girlfriend, Marissa's step-sister, or Caleb's illegitimate love child, but any of those responses would need much more explanation. "We'll explain when you get here. It's complicated. Do you remember where my house is?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon."

"Okay, great." She hung up the phone. "Anna's in town!"

"Who's Anna?" Lindsay asked, feeling quite lost.

"She moved here from Pittsburgh at the beginning of our junior year," Marissa explained. "She and Summer fought over Seth, then she dated Seth for awhile, then he and Summer got together, and shortly after that, she moved back to Pittsburgh. And in the midst of all this, she and Summer became pretty good friends."

"Wow. Things here are never simple, are they?" Summer and Marissa shook their heads.

The episode started and the three girls all turned their attention to the television, though Summer's mind was really on Seth, and Lindsay's thoughts were all over the place. Marissa closely watched Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe, occasionally making a comment about their clothes or their hair. An hour later, Anna arrived. She hugged Marissa and Summer and introduced herself to Lindsay. Summer turned off the TV, and headed up to her room. When all four girls were inside, she shut the door behind them. "We've got _lots _of catching up to do."


	3. Normal?

**Disclaimer: **I forgot to say this before, but I own nothing. Thanks for all the feedback. :-) Constructive criticism is more than welcome. This is my first fic, so I don't really know what I'm doing.

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Theresa left Newport the same night that I did and shortly after that Ryan and Marissa got back together. Then Theresa came back because Eddie, that psycho guy from the party, was hitting her and she told Ryan that she was pregnant…"

"She told me, and I told Ryan. Since he might have been the father." Marissa's words made Lindsay feel a bit uneasy. She already knew about Ryan, Theresa, and the baby they lost, but she didn't like to think about it. Ryan's experience intimidated her, because if they ever decided to take that step together, she would have no idea what she was doing. She didn't know if she was ready. She tried to put that out of her mind, as Anna continued asking about the events of the past year.

"So he left to go to Chino with Theresa to help take care of the baby?"

"Yeah." To Lindsay, the idea of Ryan as a father was really weird, but also sort of heart-warming.

"And why did Seth go to Portland?"

Summer's voice sounded like she was either about to cry or have a rage blackout. "He ran away like a little bitch on a boat because Ryan left and he didn't want to go back to life in Newport without him. He said it was hell for him here before Ryan came. It's like Ryan is the only thing here that he cared about."

Anna looked Summer in the eye a bit nervous. "He thought that you would leave him because he was an outcast before Ryan came, and he thought he'd go back to that after he left."

Summer opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't. She'd never thought that when Seth left, he thought that she was going to leave him. But she had told him she wouldn't. Had he not believed her? "Maybe," she said, her voice just above a whisper. "He tried to explain it in the note he left me, but I didn't understand it. I still don't. I just know that he sailed away until he ran out of snacks, then took a bus to Portland."

"Why Portland?"

Summer turned to Marissa, who opened her mouth to speak, but laughed instead. Summer was relieved that her friend could laugh about the situation now even if she still hated her mother with a passion. "Luke moved to Portland with his dad. He, um…had an affair with an older woman and it kind of caused some problems so he thought it would be best if he left."

Anna knew they were avoiding telling her this, but seeing their amused faces, she couldn't help but ask. "Who was it?"

Summer and Marissa exchanged a glance, and Marissa nodded at Summer. The words exploded out of Summer's mouth. "Julie Cooper!"

Anna's jaw nearly fell to the floor and she looked at Marissa. "Your mom?" She nodded. "So he left after the affair came out?"

"Sort of." Marissa said, with a slightly sad look in her eye, recalling Luke's car accident as well as all the events leading up to it. "Seth and Ryan saw them together and Ryan convinced Luke to end things with my mom, but Luke said something to Ryan about it, not knowing I was in the room. But other than that, it's just Summer that knows. And now you and Lindsay. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Anna nodded, and Marissa's eyes moved to Lindsay. "I can keep a secret." Lindsay was having some trouble following everything but she knew that Luke was Marissa's boyfriend before Ryan and that things hadn't ended well between them. Though Marissa could laugh about her mother's affair, her friends knew it still bothered her.

"So when did the boys come back?"

"Ryan came back after Theresa lost the baby. Seth came back when Ryan did. It was right when school started." Marissa's tone was a lot more matter-of-fact than Summer's had been.

"I see. So any new love interests for you guys?" Marissa blushed, and Summer jumped at the chance to try to convince someone she was over Seth.

"I'm dating Zach. Do you remember him? Brown hair, gorgeous eyes, really smart, he's on the water polo team."

"Yeah, I think I had a few classes with him. So what about you, Marissa? Did you and Ryan get back together?"

"Actually, when Ryan left I started dating this guy, DJ-"

"The yard guy!" Summer jumped in. "He's hot."

"Yeah, the yard guy. Anyway, Ryan and I decided to just be friends, for real this time, and it's working out really well. My mom hates DJ even more than she hated Ryan." At her last statement, she smiled triumphantly.

Anna laughed good-naturedly. "So Lindsay, did you just move here this year? I don't remember seeing you last year."

"I went to Newport Union, but then I transferred to Harbor this year to load up on AP courses and get into college early. Ryan and I are in physics together, and I met Summer and Marissa through him. And I'm Mr. Nichol's daughter." Her last sentence was so rushed that it didn't register for Anna at first.

"Physics, huh? Any chemistry?"

Lindsay blushed and dodged the question. "I've never been good at chemistry."

Summer gave Lindsay a mischievous grin. "Then I guess Ryan's good enough at it for the both of you."

The girls all giggled, and Lindsay's face turned bright red as she tried to hold in her laughter. "Maybe. Don't know yet."

Anna wondered if Lindsay's parents had freaked out like Marissa's had when she started dating a boy from Chino, especially one that possibly impregnated an ex-girlfriend. She finally processed Lindsay's previous statement, then wondered if she'd misunderstood. "Wait a sec! Who did you say your dad is?" Anna asked.

"Caleb Nichol is my father," she replied as coldly as if he were Darth Vadar.

Anna looked at the other two girls, who simply nodded in confirmation. "So that makes you Mrs. Cohen's sister?"

"Half-sister. And Marissa's step-sister."

Anna turned back to Marissa. "Your mom married Mr. Nichol?"

Marissa nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yep. And then Caleb blackmailed me into living with them instead of my dad."

"What ever happened with your dad?" Anna asked, beginning to notice the extreme monotone Marissa had been talking in.

"He and Sandy were going to go into business together, but Caleb screwed them over on that, something with the liquor license. But Dad did get a couple million dollars from Caleb when he bought the property from them. Oh, and he was dating Hailey, Kirsten's sister, until she moved to Japan a few months ago."

Hailey. Lindsay hadn't heard about her before. "Mr. Nichol has another daughter?"

"Yeah, Hailey. She's doing some kind of work in fashion in Tokyo. She's really fun. I wish I'd wound up with her as my stepparent instead of Caleb. But she is my stepsister. This family is so weird."

Lindsay locked eyes with Marissa and nodded in understanding. "Yeah. It's pretty messed up."

"So you're Seth and Ryan's aunt?" Anna asked Lindsay.

"Seth's aunt," Lindsay corrected. "I don't really like to think of Ryan as the Cohens' son, or my nephew," she said, wincing. "I like to think that he and Seth are such close friends that it just _feels_ like Ryan is part of the family, since I think I might sort of be his girlfriend."

Anna burst out laughing. "I'm sorry guys, but this is too much. I missed so much while I was gone! You guys are like all related now!"

"Not me," Summer chimed in happily. "Not yet anyway. And Lindsay, what do you mean 'you think' you're Ryan's girlfriend?"

"Well, I sort of broke things off with him on Chrismukkah, after it came out that I was the 'error in judgement' that was about to send my mom and Mr. Nichol to jail. I didn't think I could ever be around the Cohens, knowing that I'm the product of an affair that almost ended Kirsten's parents' marriage. I never expected Kirsten to accept me, let alone try to get to know me."

"Sandy and Kirsten are really great like that," Anna said reassuringly. "Besides, you didn't do anything wrong. Caleb did."

A silence hung in the air until Summer found a way to break it. "What about you Anna? What have you been up to?"

"Applying to college, hanging out with friends, dating some, you know, normal life."

Marissa laughed. "Normal? Actually we don't know what that is."


	4. Don't Wanna Stand in the Way

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the O.C. or any of the characters in it.

**Note:** Once again, thank you for the feedback. It's is very much appreciated. I haven't decided for sure if I want to bring back a couple other characters from last season, so if you guys could give me your opinions on that, that would be awesome.

* * *

Seth opened the door to the pool house and snuck up behind Ryan who was napping peacefully on the bed. He leaned down so his mouth was beside Ryan's ear. "RYAN!"

Ryan only rolled over, putting a pillow over his head as he mumbled, "Go away, Seth."

Seth sighed, tapping his foot impatiently. "If you don't get up now, I'll be forced to introduce you to the twins ambassadors of pain." Ryan didn't show any sign that he'd heard him.

"Chino, you better get your ass up, or I'll have to drop the Great Gatsby."

A slightly groggy Ryan looked over to find Luke standing in the doorway. "Hey man, what's up?" He stood up to greet him with a manly hug. "How are things in Portland?"

"Still no water polo team, but it's good. I've met some cool people, I'm starting to fit in. It's cool. What's been going on with you guys? Are you and Marissa back together?"

"No, uh, actually we're back to being friends."

Luke almost laughed outloud. "You and Marissa were never friends."

"No, it's better this way," Ryan said with a smile. "She's with someone else."

"Oh, that's harsh. Sorry Chino."

"No, really it's okay-"

"He wants to nail my aunt," Seth added, receiving a glare from Ryan.

"Hailey?" Luke asked, wide-eyed. "When I went for an older woman, I should've gone for her instead of Julie. Julie's hot and all, but Hailey-"

"Not Hailey," Ryan clarified. "Lindsay. She's not an older woman, she's a year younger than me."

"Lindsay…" Luke stared at Ryan blankly.

"Grandpa's illegitimate love child," Seth replied casually.

At the mention of Caleb, Luke's expression turned to disgust. "You're dating Caleb's daughter?"

"Yeah. I didn't know she was when I met her. Neither did she. We're lab partners in physics. Anyway, besides her mom and Caleb, no one knew until Chrismukkah."

"So that's when the shit hit the fan?" Luke asked.

"Actually, it was more like the vase hit Grandpa's head…except it didn't. It was a Chrismukkah to remember."

"So Seth, did you and Summer work things out?"

"Negative. We're friends. Kind of. She's with some jock, Zack."

"Oh, the guy on the water polo team?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "That would be him. As much as I want to hate the guy, I can't. If he wasn't dating Summer, I'd love him."

"If you want to improve your friendship with Summer, make friends with Zack," Luke suggested.

"That's a very interesting theory, but-" Seth started.

"You guys won't get into a fight, will you?" Luke asked.

"Nah, I'm more of a lover than a fighter. Zack did hit me once, but Alex and Summer got there before I could bring the hurt."

"He hit you? I don't remember him ever getting in a fight before." Seth just shrugged. "Are you guys cool now?"

"I haven't talked to him since the SnO.C, but I think I owe him an apology for that. Well not really. Since he hit me, I think we're kind of even, but it couldn't hurt things with Summer."

"Mind if I call him? I'd kind of like to see him anyway."

"Sure. Embrace the friend."

* * *

Lindsay heard the water running in Summer's bathroom, so with a quick knock on the door she walked in, expecting to find Marissa fixing her hair, washing her face, or something like that. She didn't expect to find her hanging over the toilet with a toothbrush in her hand. "Oh gosh, Marissa, I'm so…what are you doing?"

Marissa didn't answer, but it wasn't rocket science. Tears streamed down her flawless face and Lindsay kneeled beside her. "Why would you do this?"

The girls locked eyes, and Marissa's eyes frightened Lindsay a bit. "Why not?"

"Because it's not good for you. And you certainly don't need to lose any weight. If anything, you need to gain some."

"It's my body."

Lindsay looked at the floor for a moment, trying to process all this. "That's true. But you have lots of people who love and care about you that would hate to see you doing this to yourself."

Marissa laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right."

"Summer. Ryan. Your dad. Your mom; even though she can be really controlling and..."

"A bitch?" Marissa supplied.

"Right. But she loves you. And of course DJ."

"I'm starting to have really mixed feelings about DJ. Summer has her boy issues, Ryan and I aren't together, my dad…well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, and upsetting my mom is a bonus in any situation."

"I don't know much about your parents, but I know you mean a lot to Summer. She's just distracted right now. Even though you and Ryan are broken up, he still cares a lot about you."

Marissa brightened a little bit. Maybe she and Ryan really could make this friends thing work. She offered Lindsay a small smile. "I guess you're right." Determined to change the subject, she added, "Plus, I do have a step-sister that I'd really like to get to know."

* * *

When Zack arrived at the Cohen's house he wasn't sure what to expect. He'd decided to go because he wanted to see Luke. He also knew that it would help his relationship with Summer if he could befriend Seth, because if by some miracle she wasn't still in love with him, she did care about him.

Zack was relieved when Luke answered the door. "Z-Man! Long time, no see!"

Seth and Ryan stood back and watched as they did some weird handshake and when Zack looked up at Seth an awkwardness hung in the air. "Hey Cohen."

"Hey Zack."

Ryan felt extremely uncomfortable and looked to Luke for help. "So guys, we playstationing it?"

"Yeah," Seth and Zack said, both looking very relieved. Ryan and Luke sat on the couch, Seth plopped down on the floor, and Zack sat in a chair off to the side, sliding it so he could see the screen better.

"Okay, what's it going to be?" Seth asked, looking through the games. "Ninjas, pirates, a little GTA?"

"Cohen, you don't have any sports games?"

Seth turned and looked at Luke like he was crazy. "Did I not spend the entire summer with you, refusing to get involved in sports?"

"Ninjas it is."

She checked her watch for the twelfth time in a half an hour, then looked out the window beside her. She saw nothing but the vast ocean, but the plane would be landing soon. Thankful that her destination was on the West Coast, she closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep, imagining she was already home. It wasn't until the plane touched down that she was pulled from her light slumber.

"XOXO, it's an unbeatable combination!" Seth narrated, as he and Zack duked it out in the Ninjas' world.

"Unless…" Zack started, quickly pressing a complex series of buttons. "I do that." The music coming from the TV hailed Zack as the champion.

Seth stared at him, wide-eyed. "That was awesome."

"I could show you how to do it."

"Sweet, then maybe I can finally beat Ryan again."

Ryan laughed. "I'm going to go grab a soda. Anyone else want one?"

Seth and Zack both replied that they did, but the were already talking about the video game again. Luke got up and followed Ryan into the kitchen. "Do you guys have anything good to eat?"

When Zack and Seth realized that the other two had left the room, they fell silent. Seth decided that if he was going to apologize, now was the time. "Look um…" Seth stuttered unsure of what to say, but knowing he had a lot to say. It was rare for Seth to be serious, but when it came to Summer, he could definitely be serious. Ryan and Luke appeared in the doorway and stared at him expectantly. "Could we talk outside?"

"Sure," Zack replied, a bit confused, but he followed him. Ryan and Luke shrugged at each other and headed for the Playstation. Silence hung in the air outside while Seth tried to make sense of the thoughts running through his head.

"Look Zack, um…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the whole SnO.C. debacle. It's just that Ryan and Marissa were going as friends, and Ryan made me come and Marissa made Summer come, but neither of them knew it, and then Summer and I were just sort of stuck with each other."

"It's okay," Zack said trying to convince himself as much as Seth. "You guys mean a lot to each other, but that doesn't mean there's anything going on. I get that. Sometimes I just freak out."

"Well," Seth hesitated. "If it makes you feel any better, I do that all the time."

"Alex's ex?"

"Um…no. Alex is hot and fun and all, but…" Seth couldn't come up with any way to word what he wanted to say other than to just say it. "She's not Summer."

"Oh." Zack smiled sadly. He looked deep in thought for a few moments before he spoke again. "The first girl I loved broke up with me for another guy," he said slowly. "And they say that you never really get over your first love."

Seth looked at him, puzzled, unsure of where this was going.

"But for me, that wasn't true." He took a deep breath, not believing what he was about to say. "I really like Summer, but I think it's time for me to bow out."

"What? What do you mean? Why?" Inside, Seth was feeling a lot of conflicting emotions. Wasn't this what he'd wanted all along?

"You're still in love with her, and I'm pretty sure she's still in love with you too. If you two can still love each other after all you've gone through, I don't want to stand in the way of that."

"Zack…" Seth's heart was racing. Sure he'd wanted Summer and Zack to break up, but he didn't want to see Summer cry and know that it was because of him...again. Also, he was afraid it would look to Summer like he'd tried to talk Zack into breaking up with her. "I do love Summer, but I had my chance with her and I screwed it up. She deserves to be with someone who isn't self-centered and doesn't take her for granted. I'm lucky that she's willing to try to be friends with me, and that's all she sees me as."

Zack looked at Seth and offered him a small smile. "I guess we'll find out sooner or later."


	5. Like Old Times

A key turned in the lock of the Cohen's house. It was mostly dark, but she could hear noise coming from the living room. _Seth and Ryan must be playing Playstation,_ she thought. As eager as she was to see them, she was too tired to deal with Seth's rambling and questions. She hauled her bag up the stairs as quietly as she could manage, walked down the hall and into the familiar bedroom. _I've really missed this place_.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she put on pajamas and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, despite the boys' shouts coming from the living room.

"You're going down Chino!" Luke challenged.

"I think Grand Theft Auto is more my speed than yours," Ryan retorted, thinking back to night that had changed his life.

Luke laughed heartily. "You know, when you first came to town, I hated your guts."

_That's stating the obvious. _"I know. And the feeling was mutual."

They both laughed. "You know what I like about Chino kids?" Luke punched a pillow. "Nothing!"

Ryan laughed, "Welcome to The O.C. bitch! This is how it's done in Orange County!"

"I was such an ass," Luke replied, still laughing, but with a hint of regret.

"Yeah."

"The idea of losing Marissa just…I couldn't take it. You know? But then I screwed it up all on my own." Ryan didn't know what to say, so he just sat quietly, listening. "I kept thinking of ways to try and get her back, but then one day I saw you guys together, and as much as I hated to admit it, I thought you guys were meant to be together."

Ryan thought back on his relationship with Marissa. "I loved her. A lot. I still do, kind of. It's just that we've both changed so much. Last year I was always brooding and she was crying, it was a match made in heaven. This year I'm happy and she's…I'm not sure exactly. Let's just say that you leaving didn't fix things."

Luke nodded, thoughtfully.

"Do you ever think about moving back?"

"All the time. I miss my mom and my brothers, and of course you, Seth, and Marissa, but in Portland, I have a clean slate."

"Sometimes that's for the best."

The doorbell rang, and Ryan and Luke both looked at the door. Ryan got up to answer it and Luke stayed in the living room, but moved so that he could see the front door.

When Ryan recognized the face on the other side of the door, he cringed.

"Is she here?" DJ demanded.

Ryan waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "You mean Marissa?"

"So she is here! And don't tell me there's nothing going on, I've seen the way you look at her!"

"She isn't here. What do you mean, the way I look at her?"

DJ glared daggers at Ryan. "Nevermind. Where is she?" His tone was urgent, and Ryan got a bad feeling about the situation.

"She's not here, what going on? Is she okay?"

DJ appeared to be near tears. "I hope so. I haven't been able to get ahold of her."

Ryan tried to be calm and not think the worst. "When did you last talk to her?"

"This afternoon," DJ said as if it were weeks ago.

Ryan waited for him to say he was kidding, but he didn't. "Maybe she just has her phone off."

DJ considered this briefly. _Maybe she turned it off because she's out with another guy._ "Yeah. Probably. Thanks Ryan." With that, DJ turned and left Ryan standing there confused.

"Dude, what was that?" Luke asked.

"Marissa's new boyfriend. DJ. The yard guy." Ryan spoke every word flatly.

"He's kind of weird."

Ryan nodded and tried to shrug off the worry that was brewing in him.

* * *

Summer and Anna walked down to the kitchen to get some ice cream. Summer figured Anna was going to grill her about Seth, and she was right. "So since you're with Zack, you're obviously totally over Seth."

"Right," Summer replied with a smirk.

"I was being sarcastic," Anna stated, frustrated.

"So was I, but I guess I'm not very good at that yet."

"So if you still love him and he still loves you, why aren't you back together?"

Summer's face fell and when she spoke it was much softer. "Remember when Cohen and I got together, how I told you that I didn't want my reputation ruined by being dumped by him?" Anna nodded. "He left. After standing on a coffee cart telling me how much he cared about me, he left. After I forgave him for kissing another girl, he left. After I told him that even though Ryan was leaving, he'd still have me, he left." A single tear streamed down her cheek. "I'm not going to let him leave me twice."

Anna took Summer in her arms, and she cried into her shoulder, letting her first tears fall since Seth had returned to Newport. "I'm sorry Summer." They stood silently for several minutes, before Summer stood up, wiping her eyes.

"It's okay. I've got Zack now, and he's really a great guy."

"Yeah, but do you want to go through life wondering why it is that no matter how great a guy is, if he isn't Seth, he's not good enough?"

* * *

The girls had talked for hours. Lindsay had tried to convince Marissa to start eating and stop throwing up, and while Marissa had refused, Lindsay's words kept running through her head and they were starting to make a lot of sense. Lindsay had promised not to tell anyone if Marissa would promise to stop making herself throw up. Not seeing any choice, she had agreed. She'd just have to not eat anything.

When Anna and Summer had come back upstairs, Summer was uncharacteristically quiet. Anna and Lindsay chatted animatedly, and Marissa soon joined in. As Summer watched her friends, she felt a sense of contentment. She was as lost as ever on the whole Seth issue, but Marissa was smiling, Lindsay had come out of her shell, and Anna was still Anna.

By four o'clock that morning, everyone but Marissa was asleep. She tossed and turned for a couple more hours, but finally gave up. Hoping to get a few hours of rest in her own bed, she left a note for Summer and headed back to her house.

So much was going through her mind and she couldn't make sense of it all. She just knew that she didn't want to go home and have her mom try and have another 'mother-daughter' talk with her. To stall, she stopped by her dad's boat to eat breakfast with him.

As she walked down the pier, she heard two voices coming from the boat. As she got closer, she recognized both of her parents' voices. "I have to get back before Marissa gets home." Marissa saw her mother standing with her father in a very friendly embrace.

"It's six o'clock in the morning. She won't even be awake for several more hours. Besides, she's going to find out eventually."

"No she's not. I've decided not to leave Caleb."

"But Jules, what we have…"

"Is history. No future. Good-bye Jimmy." She gave him one last good-bye kiss. As Julie got off the boat, Marissa hid. Now she really didn't want to talk to her dad or anyone, she just...wanted to see Ryan. The realization was painful. After much deliberating, she turned and headed in the direction of the Cohen's house.

She approached the poolhouse and lightly knocked on the door. When she got no answer, she walked in. It was pretty dark with all the blinds closed, but she could see his muscular body and his blonde hair resting on the pillow. She walked to him and kneeled down beside the bed. "Ryan," she said, softly shaking his shoulder.

They locked eyes. "Marissa?" he asked, feeling a bit disoriented.

"Luke!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around him. "What are you doing here?"

Luke had never expected such a warm welcome, especially from Marissa, and he couldn't help but grin widely. He hadn't seen her smile in a long time and he'd forgotten how beautiful her smile was.

After exchanging pleasantries, and another hug, Luke led Marissa into the family room, where Ryan was asleep on the couch. She ran her fingers through his hair and looked at him adoringly. "I think I'll let him sleep," she whispered to Luke before quietly going out the back door.

* * *

The sun rose and brightly shined into the Cohen's guestroom the next morning. Hailey got up to close the blinds. Her body was completely out of synch with her surroundings. Unable to get back to sleep, she went downstairs to get some breakfast.

The smell of pancakes soon filled the house and she set five places at the table. Sandy came down the stairs and stared at her groggily. "Such delectable redundancy, it could only be my favorite sister-in-law." Lindsay popped into his mind, but how to handle that situation would be up to Kirsten.

"I couldn't make it for Christmas, but I thought I'd come out and visit anyway."

"Hailey!" Kirsten appeared in the doorway, and she ran to Hailey, hugging her. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to be home," she smiled, hugging her sister tightly.

"How are things going with your job in Japan?"

"Good. Okay. I really miss you guys and Jimmy, but eventually I might be able to move back."

Kirsten's face lit up even more. "When?"

"As soon as I make enough money to start a branch of the business here in the states."

"That's great!" Kirsten hugged her sister again, so glad to have her home. Since finding out about her father's affair, and the fact that he'd abandoned his youngest daughter for the first sixteen years of her life, she'd missed her mother and Hailey even more than usual. "Does Dad know you're here?"

"No, not yet. I thought I'd surprise him. Are you guys having a party or something for New Years?"

Kirsten looked at Sandy, who just shrugged. "Sure, we could. We'll invite Dad, and Jimmy, and the kids can invite their friends…" Sandy cleared his throat. "Or not, it could just be a family thing."

"No, I'd love to spend some QT with my nephew, or nephews or whatever. And Marissa's our step-sister, so she's family anyway."

Kirsten gritted her teeth but nodded. "Family, right." Well maybe Hailey would have better aim with the vase when she found out about Lindsay.

Ryan lied still on the couch in next room. Kirsten's voice had awoken him, but when the subject changed to Caleb, Ryan decided to stay put and pretend he was asleep. He was thankful when they moved the discussion out to the patio by the pool. Almost a week after the Chrismukkah fiasco, he still hadn't come to grips with the whole thing, and he still hadn't talked to Lindsay. He didn't know if he would ever get to kiss her again, but he didn't let his mind dwell on that thought. Instead, he imagined she was in his arms as he drifted back to sleep.


	6. Reunited

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything.

**Note:** There is some fluff in this chapter, and they'll be more coming soon. I won't be able to update as quickly because school is starting again, but I'll do my best. Thank you so much for the reviews, and a special thanks to Ally. You guys rock. :-)

* * *

Later that morning, the planning of the New Year's Eve party was in full swing. Kirsten and Hailey had gone shopping for something to wear, Sandy was tying up loose ends with Caleb's case, Seth was at the bait shop inviting Alex to the party and Luke went home to spend time with his mom and brothers.

Ryan stood in the shower, lost in thought as the hot water poured down his body. Lindsay. Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay. He couldn't get his mind off her and it was driving him crazy. He decided he had to see her. He quickly put on pants and was putting a shirt on, but then he changed his mind again. Throwing the shirt back on the floor, he fell onto his bed in frustration, hands covering his face.

Lindsay stood outside the pool house, debating about whether or not she should go in. When she saw him lying on the bed in only jeans and a wifebeater, his chest and stomach muscles moving up and down as he breathed in and out deeply, she decided that sometimes, God does give with both hands. In Ryan's case, God had given _very _generously with both hands.

She walked into the room as quietly as she could. The stereo was playing, so she managed to get over to him before he heard her. She reached down to lift his hands off his face, and when he looked at her, he looked confused for a second.

"Lindsay," he said dreamily. He mentally kicked himself. He'd never acted shy or goofy around a girl before, why was he starting to now?

He stood up, placing a gentle hand on her cheek, brushing her hair back from her face. The look in his eyes chased all coherent thoughts from her mind, but she managed to recite what she'd rehearsed in her mind all day. "I just wanted to say thanks."

His gaze remained steady but he dropped his hand and took a step back to sit down on the bed, gesturing for her to sit beside him. "For what?"

She sat down, tucking one leg underneath her. "Chrismukkah. For inviting me, for the helping with the Cohens, for being such a good friend, everything."

He smiled, but couldn't help but dwell on her saying he was a good _friend_. "I had some help. You've got a family that really cares about you."

"Yeah. I guess I do," she stated, as she studied him, trying to get a clue as to what he was thinking. "This is so weird. A month ago you were just my lab partner."

Ryan's questioning eyes hesitantly met hers. "What am I now?"

Her hands were shaking and her voice equally displayed her nervousness. "I don't know," she replied.

His heart fell a little bit, but he reached out and placed a hand on hers, trying to calm her down. "I know you've got a lot on your mind right now. How about we just give it some time?"

She nodded, tears filling her eyes.

He placed his arm around her shoulders and leaned towards her, and pushing her chin up so her eyes met his."And in the meantime, I'm here -as a friend- if you ever want to talk or anything." He'd said friend, but his arm felt more tingly than friendly to her.

"Thanks Ryan." He gave her a half smile, and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her in a firm hug. She rested her head on his chest and listened to the pounding of his heart. The sound lulled her into a relaxed state that she had desperately needed for the past week. She closed her eyes, relaxing against him as he gently traced circles on her back. He kissed the top of her head so lightly that she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it or not. Neither of them wanted the moment to end.

* * *

After Kirsten and Hailey had selected their outfits for New Years Eve, they sat in the Cohens' kitchen making a guest list.

"Do we have to invite Julie Cooper?" Hailey whined, despite the fact that she already knew the answer.

"If you want Dad there, we do." To Kirsten, the idea of not having to see Caleb was actually pretty good, but she wasn't going to say anything to Hailey about what he'd done. He was going to have to tell Hailey himself and deal with whatever reaction she gave him.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've really missed Dad."

Kirsten was surprised by the sincere tone in her sister's voice. "When do you think you'll be able to move back?"

"I really have no idea. It'll probably be at least five years before the company has the money."

"How much do you need?"

"Kirsten, I have to do this on my own. I can't be taking money from you, or Dad, or Jimmy."

"Please just think about it, Hailey. I've really missed having my sister here. I know you want to do things on your own, and I'm so proud of you, but promise me you'll at least consider letting us loan you the money so you can come home."

Hailey sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this. "Okay, I'll think about it."

"Thanks. Does Jimmy know you're here yet?"

"No. I haven't talked to him since I left. Is he...um...seeing anyone?" She tried to sound casual, but Kirsten knew better.

"I don't think so. You should go talk to him."

"Maybe. I was thinking about surprising him, but it'd probably be a good idea for us to talk."

"Why don't you go invite him and I'll make the rest of the phone calls."

* * *

When Marissa got home, she found a note from her mother saying she was at the gym and then going out with her friends for the evening. Caleb was gone, but that was standard. She wandered into the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. After eating half of it, she felt full. She took two more bites, before putting her plate in the sink.

She checked her phone and saw that DJ had tried to call her the night before, eleven times. She was a little bit freaked out by his behavior. He'd always been a little possessive and she liked that someone cared enough to pay attention, but this was getting weird.

Right now, she was tired of worrying about it. She decided to go see her dad, and just pretend she'd never seen him with her mom that morning. She'd confront him about it later, but for now, she just wanted to hear him call her Kiddo, and to feel the security of his arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Jimmy lied down on his bed reading Dr. Phil's Life Strategies. He'd read so many self-help books that they were starting to all sound the same. They made sense, but that didn't mean he would follow the advice they provided. It seemed useless to try, but he reminded himself of his daughters. If he was a wreck how could he be a good father to them?

Prior to his affair with Julie, he'd missed Hailey to the point where it was almost physically painful. He blamed his loneliness and lack of direction for his life for his affair with Julie. Now that it was over, he found that he missed Hailey more than ever. When he heard her voice, calling his name, he thought he was imagining it until she made her way to the bedroom and smiled at him.

"Hailey. You're here. That's fantastic!"

"Yeah, I just came back to visit." She told him about Japan, and how she was hoping to move home.

Jimmy thought carefully. He didn't want to scare her off, but he couldn't stand the idea of losing her. "I know that the last time we talked, I was a little rash, but the offer's still on the table."

Hailey considered this, and after looking into his eager eyes, she knew it was the right thing to do. "Yes."

"Yes?"

She smiled widely and nodded. "Yes."

Fantastic.

* * *

Marissa was listening from the pier, and she recognized Hailey's voice but couldn't tell what she was saying. Was she visiting, or was she back for good? If she was staying, Marissa would be glad that her dad was getting back together with her, but if she was just going back to Japan, he'd be heartbroken all over again. Maybe. Just that morning, he'd been with her mom, so maybe he was still heartbroken about that. Maybe he didn't care about any of it. It was all so much. Caitlin was still off at boarding school and lately, Caleb seemed to be spinning out of control, and she realized there wasn't a single stable thing in her life.

* * *

Ryan sat in the Cohen's living room, intently watching the newest episode of The Valley. Seth laughed softly to himself. _The brooding bad boy is watching a cheesy soap opera._ "Hey man, could we, uh, talk? I need your help."

Ryan reluctantly switched off the TV and turned to face Seth. "Alex or Summer?"

"Summer," Seth replied, briefly pondering how many talks they'd begun like this.

"What, do you like her again?" Seth only stared and Ryan got the message loud and clear. "Okay, nothing new there. What's going on?"

"Zach said he thinks she's still in love with me."

Ryan nodded, showing no signs of surprise at Seth's revelation. Seth sat impatiently, waiting for Ryan to say something, but he didn't know what to say. "Yeah…"

"So she's still in love with me Ryan! But she's with Zach, and I can't break the man code, plus I'm with Alex. What do I do?"

"Okay Seth, first of all, slow down. You don't know for a fact that she's still in love with you. That's just what Zach suspects." _Zach and everyone else in the world. _

"Right, but what if she is?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Seth pouted and shrugged. "Do you still love her?"

His face turned serious, and he lowered his voice. "She was my first…my first everything. Of course I do."

"Okay, but do you love her in the same way that you used to, or is it more of a 'I'll always treasure what we had,' kind of thing?"

Seth thought for several moments before answering. "Neither. It's more like 'I've loved you my whole life and I can't believe I did something so stupid to lose you, but if there was any humanly possible way for me to make it up to you I would. Since I can't, I'll settle for the next best thing.'"

"The next best thing being Alex?"

"Or Summer's friendship. Both, I guess."

"Oh buddy, you're in deep."

* * *

"Come on, pick up the phone," DJ mumbled as he listened to the dull rings.

Marissa felt her phone buzzing in her purse once again, and this time, she answered it. Her dad had just had affair with her mom. Her step-father wasn't going to jail, but he was fighting with her mother all the time. Her dad's girlfriend was back and that would surely cause tension between her parents. Her sister was still off at boarding school and on top of it all, her body was giving her a harsh reminder of the means by which she had been trying find a sense of control in her life for the past few weeks. She needed some kind of comfort and right now, and just like last summer, he was there. "Hello?"

"Marissa! Where have you been? I've been trying to call you-"

"I know, sorry about that. I was at Summer's and I didn't have my phone with me." When he remained silent she decided a little fib wouldn't hurt. "I was just about to call you back. What's up?"

"I was just seeing if you wanted to do something tonight."

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, her voice holding a knowing tone.

"If you want, we could go out to dinner and a movie or something, or-"

She smiled into the phone. "Stay in. My house at 8?"

"What about your mom?"

"She's out for the night."

DJ smiled into the phone. "See you then."

Marissa drove back to her house, thankful that DJ would be there soon so it wouldn't be so quiet. She felt numb and she needed something, anything, to distract her. She put on the lingerie set that he'd given her for Christmas, along with an outfit that she knew he loved.

The doorbell rang and with one last look in the mirror, she headed downstairs to greet him. _Hopefully Caleb won't be back anytime soon. _


	7. Party Planning

The next morning, Kirsten and Hailey were making the final preparations for the party that was to take place that evening. "Do you think we need some decorations?" Hailey asked.

Kirsten shrugged. "Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"I don't really know, just something to give it more of a party atmosphere."

Seth came downstairs in a T-shirt and boxers, his hair sticking out in every direction. "Morning."

"Seth, I need a headcount."

"Mom, I'm not your hitman."

"What?" she asked, then figured she wouldn't understand anyway. "How many of your friends are coming tonight?"

Seth shrugged lamely. "Alex said she'd come."

"Jimmy said that he and Marissa would be here," Hailey chimed in. "And Marissa's bringing her boyfriend."

"Luke's in town and I'm sure he's got nothing better to do."

"Did you guys invite Lindsay?" Kirsten asked, suddenly wishing Hailey wasn't in the room. She wanted Lindsay to feel like she was a part of the family, but it was inevitable that if she were there, Hailey would find out. Kirsten had tried to get Caleb to come over for dinner the previous night, so that he could break the news to Hailey, but she'd been unable to reach him.

Seth's eyes darted between his mother and his aunt. "He didn't know if he should; he was going to talk to you about it."

"Is she his girlfriend?" Hailey asked.

Seth shrugged non-committally. "They're lab partners."

"Lab partners," Hailey rolled her eyes dramatically, "Right."

Kirsten gave Seth a questioning look, but she wasn't about to ask him in front of Hailey. "Did you invite Summer yet?"

"Mom, she's dating Zach."

"So invite him too. You guys are friends, right?"

Seth gritted his teeth. "Right, because that won't be awkward at all."

"Won't it be more awkward if you don't invite her?"

Seth looked at Hailey, with a sarcastic grin. "I love holidays."

"Seth, make yourself useful and go get some snack food for tonight," Kirsten requested, "but take Ryan with you." She knew that if she wanted the job done properly, Seth couldn't be trusted on his own. Seth headed to the pool house to get Ryan.

"Are we going to be able to get all this ready by tonight?" Hailey asked.

Kirsten looked uncertain. "Probably not." Seth and Ryan walked through the kitchen and Kirsten stopped Seth. "But Marissa and Summer are really good at throwing together a party at the last minute."

Seth pretended he hadn't heard her, but Ryan could always be counted upon. "I'll call Marissa and make sure she calls Summer."

"Thank you, Ryan. Tell them I need their help with decorations."

"Will do."

* * *

A few hours later, Summer and Marissa were at the Cohens' house, hanging streamers, blowing up balloons and waiting for the boys to get back with the snacks.

"It looks great, girls!" Kirsten exclaimed. "It's going to be so nice to have everyone here tonight. Summer, is Zach coming?"

"Yeah, I think so. He sounded weird on the phone, but he'll probably be here. I hope you don't mind, but I invited Anna too."

"She's in town? That's wonderful! I haven't seen her in almost a year. Marissa, what about your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he'll be here," she said in an almost snippy voice.

"Don't try and sound so thrilled there, Coop. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. So Caleb and my mom are coming?" Marissa was looking forward to her mom seeing her dad and Hailey together. She'd determined that the reason her mom had been with her dad was because his financial situation was looking better than Caleb's was, but now that Caleb wasn't going to jail, his wealth would far exceed Jimmy's. Marissa doubted that her mom loved either man, but Jimmy was a much more likely candidate.

"Yeah, I finally got ahold of them."

"And Lindsay?"

Kirsten nervously nodded, and gestured to Marissa that Hailey still didn't know. "It'll be fun."

* * *

After running the errands Kirsten had asked him too, Ryan stood in the kitchen, arranging the snacks on plates. He could hear Kirsten, Summer, and Marissa talking in the kitchen, but he was thinking about Lindsay. He still hadn't called her to invite her. He wanted to see her, but he didn't want to put her in an awkward situation with Caleb and Kirsten.

"Want some help?" Marissa asked, breaking his train of thought.

"Sure," he smiled at her, handing her a box of crackers to arrange on the plate. His encounter with DJ two days ago sprang to mind. He debated about whether or not he should mention it to Marissa. "So how are things with DJ?"

Marissa wrinkled her nose. "Weird."

"How so?" Ryan wasn't usually one to ask her a lot of questions, but he was trying to figure out if he should be worried.

"Just calling a lot more than usual, stuff like that."

"A few nights ago…" he started, taking in a deep breath, and running a hand through his hair. "He came over here looking for you."

Marissa's eyes widened. "What?"

"He was freaking out because he hadn't talked to you in a few hours. He thought you were over here with me. Did you talk to him yesterday?"

Marissa thought back to the night she'd spent with DJ. It had made her feel better at the time, but now it made her cringe. "Yeah."

Ryan looked nervous. His instincts had been right before, and he hoped they weren't again. "Be careful."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...when he thought you were with me, the look he gave me was familiar. Maybe it's nothing, but I don't want what happened with Oliver to ever happen again."

When Oliver had come along, Marissa hadn't trusted Ryan, but this time, she knew his motive wasn't jealousy. He was really just concerned. This, in addition to her own suspicions led her to one conclusion. She had to break it off with DJ as soon as possible. "Okay. Thanks Ryan."

He draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side in a hug. "Anytime."

* * *

Lindsay stared at the photograph of the man she'd been told was her father. Mark Gardner. With a sudden wave of rage, she jumped up off her bed and stormed into the living room where her mother was working on her laptop. Lindsay held out the photograph angrily. "Mom, who is this?"

Renee felt her heart break for Lindsay again and gestured for her to sit down. "Mark Gardner was a good friend of mine." When Lindsay continued to glare, Renee realized she was going to have to explain more than that. "He was the man I wanted to spend my life with."

Lindsay's face softened and she sat down on the couch beside her mother. "Why didn't you?"

"We'd been best friends for many years. One night we got a little tipsy and..." Renee refused to say it. "Anyway, a week or so after that we finally faced each other. I told him I loved him; he told me that he was gay. He hadn't come out yet and he was just realizing it. I was a mess after that. I was heartbroken...and Caleb was there." She looked down at her hands. "Well, a few months later he was there," she amended. "But after I found out I was pregnant, he said he would help me financially as much as I needed him to, but he didn't want to risk his family finding out, so that was the only way he would help me. The deal was if I didn't tell you, his family, or anyone else that he was your father, he would support me to whatever extent I needed. If I told, then he would refuse to support me financially, and I knew I wasn't making enough money to support myself and a child."

"Wouldn't he have still had to pay child support?"

"In theory, but that's not always the way it works out. Caleb was a very powerful man. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I'm so sorry."

Lindsay offered her mother a weak smile, then returned to her room and pulled out her journal.

* * *

Ryan sat in the pool house, staring at his phone. His feelings for Lindsay had grown a lot and he was surprised at the fact that he was having feelings this strong for someone other than Marissa when he'd spent the entire summer dreaming about going back to her.

Marissa had always been a princess in Ryan's eyes, and he was the prince that saved her. Though he would never admit it, he had really liked being her knight in shining armor. He liked being loved, needed, trusted and depended upon, but Oliver had changed things. And maybe if Ryan hadn't had to go to Chino, they could have worked things out. But he did go to Chino, and when he came back, she'd lied to him. It was basically a harmless lie, assuming that she would have quickly ended things with DJ, but with all they'd gone through the previous year still fresh in his mind, it was enough to set him off.

With Lindsay, it was completely different. She'd grown up an only child of a mother who had lied to her for as long as she could remember. Until a week ago, she'd never met her father, but in spite of her family situation, she was determined to make a good life for herself. He never thought a girl like Lindsay would give him a second look and he never imagined he would fall for a girl like Lindsay. Then again, he also never thought he'd be taking advanced classes, have any stability in his life or smile on a regular basis.

As he continued to analyze his feelings for Lindsay, his head began to spin with possibilities, good and bad. Pushing them all out of his mind, he picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded a bit far away, as if she'd just woken up.

"Hey Lindsay, it's Ryan."

"Ryan!" her voice seemed to perk up, but she quickly toned it down. "What's up?"

He noted the way her voice had jumped and grinned. "The Cohens are having a New Years Eve party and I was just seeing if you wanted to come."

She hesitated and he could picture her nervously biting her bottom lip as she weighed out the pros and cons in her head. She wanted to spend New Years Eve with Ryan, but what if Caleb was there? "Are you sure that's okay?"

Kirsten had told him to invite Lindsay, and that it didn't matter if Caleb was okay with it or not. Ryan thought it would be best not to go into any detail about that. "Yeah, I'm sure. Come by around 7, okay?"

"Okay." She was smiling now. He could tell. "I'll see you then." They were both thankful that 7 o'clock was only a few hours away.


	8. Regrets

To Kirsten's surprise, the party was going well so far. Jimmy and Hailey looked as happy as ever, the kids were all getting along, Caleb was keeping his distance, and the tension was at a minimum, all things considered.

Ryan and Lindsay sat together sipping punch and Ryan tried to think of something to say to her that wouldn't make things awkward. "Have you read over that chapter for physics yet?"

Lindsay could tell he was nervous and she found it incredibly adorable. "Sort of. I tried, but after I realized I was putting at least 7 dots at the bottom of every page, I decided to just wait until I could actually focus on it, but who knows when that will be. Hopefully my lab partner can help me out. He can be an idiot, but he knows his physics."

They shared a smile. "He'd be happy to help you get caught up," he assured her. "Especially if it means he can be your study buddy." He winked at her and she wondered what exactly he meant by 'study buddy.'

"I'm lucky to have a lab partner who's so sweet, and understanding, and..." Lindsay's hand had somehow found Ryan's underneath the table. They shared a smoldering look, and her senses clouded as she added, "such a good kisser."

Breaking the spell for a moment, Luke approached the pair and sat down across from them. "Cool party."

Ryan smiled, concealing his frustration with the interruption. "Luke this is Lindsay. Lindsay, Luke."

They smiled and greeted each other awkwardly. "So Lindsay, Ryan tells me you're new to Harbor this year?"

Ryan's hand pulled away from hers and rested on her knee. As he started to slide it slightly up and down, going a little higher each time, and she found it difficult to speak. "Uh...Yeah."

"Do you like it there?"

His hand abandoned her knee and he took a sip of his punch. "Yeah, it's not bad." She gave Ryan's thigh a gentle squeeze, then rested her hand there. "It was kind of rough at first, but I've met some really great people."

Ryan's eyes widened at her touch, but he tried not to show any reaction. He wracked his mind for something to talk to Luke about so maybe he wouldn't notice Ryan's face flush as Lindsay slowly moved her hand higher and towards his inner thigh. "Soccer," he blurted out, hoping his breathing didn't sound as heavy as it was.

Luke gave him a strange look. "What?"

Lindsay tried to contain her smile. When she spotted Kirsten walk by several yards away, she removed her hand and a moment later, she waved at her sister. Ryan's eyes followed the direction of hers, but he turned back towards Luke. "Did you go out for the soccer team in Portland?" He quickly glanced over his shoulder, seeing that Kirsten was back in the house, and he decided to give Lindsay a taste of her own medicine.

"Yeah. It was weird playing on a team with guys that I hardly knew, but other than that it wascool. Have you guys started thinking about colleges yet?"

Ryan shrugged, and Lindsay began to talk about her plans. She found it extremely difficult with Ryan's hand inflicting the same torture that hers had on him. "I want to go to Yale and study psychology."

"Oh are you going to be like, a shrink?"

She shrugged, no longer able to think clearly. "What do you want to do?"

As Luke explained his plans, Ryan's hand grew a little bit bolder and Lindsay nearly gasped. A moment later, Luke was gone. He'd said something about food, but neither Ryan nor Lindsay was sure what he'd said. As soon as he left, Hailey appeared. She had always gotten a kick out of teasing Ryan, so she wasn't about to miss the chance to do it again. "Hey Ryan."

His hand pulled away from Lindsay immediately. He was getting really tired of having to stay separated from her when he craved to have some physical contact with her so badly. Nothing big, just some indication that there was more than friendship between them. "Hailey," he nodded and smiled at her, trying to hide his anxiousness. His pulse was racing before but now it was for a completely different reason.

"So is this Lindsay? Your 'lab partner'?" She winked at him and Lindsay laughed softly.

Ryan looked horrified at the situation, knowing that he was sitting between two women who didn't know they were sisters. Hoping to quickly get rid of Hailey, he nodded and turned back to Lindsay, who was still looking at Hailey.

"Don't be rude," she whispered lightly elbowing him before reaching down and grasping his hand under the table. "I'm Lindsay," she said to Hailey, extending her other hand.

They politely shook hands. "I'm Hailey. Ryan's aunt." She playfully ruffled his hair and he smirked at Hailey, who hadn't noticed the drastic change in Lindsay's expression. "You two crazy kids have fun tonight." She leaned down to whisper to Ryan. "Did you ever figure out how to lock the pool house doors?"

Ryan blushed and glared at her, but couldn't help but smile. She walked away leaving a heavy silence between the couple. "Hailey," Lindsay repeated, processing the information. "When did she get back from Japan?"

"Two days ago, I think. She surprised everyone. No one knew she was coming." Ryan's thumb moved across the back of her hand gently.

"I'm assuming she doesn't know about me?"

"No. Kirsten wants Caleb to tell her himself."

Lindsay nodded then raised her eyes to meet Ryan's. "Could we maybe go somewhere private and talk?"

"Yeah, sure," he stood and led her to the pool house.

* * *

"Jimmy, where's Marissa?" Hailey asked, her eyes scanning the room. "Is that DJ guy here?"

"Not yet. Marissa came with me. He was going to get here as soon as he could, something about spending time with his brothers. She's probably with Summer or Ryan."

"She's not with Ryan. He was with his new girlfriend."

"Oh, I didn't know he was dating anyone."

"Lindsay."

"Oh," Jimmy wondered if Kirsten and Caleb were aware of this.

Caleb had been making his way over to Hailey. Since Julie and Kirsten wouldn't speak to him, she was all he had, but when he heard what Hailey said about Lindsay and Ryan, he was blinded with anger. He grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him. "Lindsay is dating _Ryan?_"

Hailey looked at her father with confusion. "Since when do you care who Ryan dates? I thought you said you wanted nothing to do with him."

Caleb when he turned to Jimmy for help, but he just raised his eyebrows at him, disappointed to learn that Kirsten's suspicions about Caleb's feelings toward Ryan were correct. "If he's like a son to Kirsten, then I should accept him as a grandson."

"That's very sweet of you, Daddy." She leaned up to kiss his cheek.

Caleb felt guilt spinning a web around him. Jimmy wanted to call him out right there, but he managed to keep his temper in check. Mostly. "You're just accepting all kinds of new relatives these days, aren't you Cal?" With that, he put his hand on Hailey's back and led her to the room where Kirsten and Julie were talking animatedly.

"Hailey!" Julie exclaimed with a fake smile. "When did you get here?"

Rather than return the fake smile, Hailey gave her a cold, dismissive look. "Late Wednesday night."

Julie locked eyes with Jimmy, and the anger he saw in them scared him a little bit. "Jimmy could I talk to you for a second?"

"Now's not a good time."

"Jimmy, we _need _to talk."

"Why? About what?" he asked, playing dumb.

"It's about Marissa." She had him trapped. Jimmy couldn't argue that without revealing their affair.

Jimmy knew she was lying, but he didn't have much choice but to go with her. After letting her lead him up to one of the bedrooms. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now. "What Jules?"

"Don't call me Jules!" she yelled angrily. "Did what we had mean anything to you?"

Her guilt trip was working, but Jimmy remembered what she said to him the day before. _I've decided not to leave Caleb. What we have is all history. No future. Good-bye_ _Jimmy._ "Unfortunately, yes, but it's all history, right? You're the one who wanted to end it. Hailey came back and as soon as I saw her I was in love with her all over again. If our...thing...hadn't ended, I might have felt differently, but it did end.

"Jimmy," she cooed, her voice gentle and if he hadn't known her, he might have thought she was being sincere. "I was going to tell you that I decided to leave Caleb. I want to be with you. I love you." Her arms wrapped around his neck and she leaned up to kiss him.

He unhooked her arms and stepped away from her. "No."

"Excuse me?" Julie couldn't believe he was turning her down.

"You left me. Twice. I'm with Hailey now."

"She left you too!"

"She left me because she had a job in Japan. You left the first time because I went broke and the second time, because you wanted to be with someone else. A very rich someone else who you'd just found out wasn't going to jail, and therefore, wouldn't be losing his money."

"Fine, James. Do what you want. Just know that when she dumps you again, this time, I won't be there to catch you."

Jimmy was about to ask when she'd ever been there for him, but she'd already turned and walked out the door.

* * *

Anna walked up the familiar driveway, and saw her friends out back. She walked up to a table where Summer, Luke, and a boy who she assumed was Zach were talking. "Hey Summer."

"Hey Anna! This is Zach," she said clutching his arm.

"Yeah, I think we had a history class together last year," Zach recalled.

"Uh huh," Anna said somewhat shyly. "Summer, do you know where Seth is?"

"Last time I saw him, he was in the kitchen with Alex." Anna didn't miss the disgust in her voice when she said the girl's name. Neither did Zach.

"Thanks," Anna replied, walking away. She was really nervous about seeing Seth, but she didn't know why. She saw him across the room with Alex and Marissa, who were excitedly talking about something. Seth looked back and forth between the girls, trying to follow the conversation, but he was clearly lost.

His eye caught hers. "Anna?"

He crossed the room to meet her. When she hugged him, he didn't let go for several moments. "Hey Seth."

He rapidly fired questions at her about how things were going in Pittsburgh, and then told her about spending the summer in Portland. Most of the conversation centered around Summer and a little bit about Alex. "So what do you think I should do?" he inquired after catching Anna up to speed.

"Well, don't hump anymore hot dog stands for starters," she answered, trying to hold in her laughter.

"So I see you enjoy my pain," he retorted in such an even tone that she almost thought he was seriously hurt.

Anna laughed, but then forced herself to be serious. "You really hurt her when you left."

Seth looked down at his hands. "I know."

"So you have to show her that it won't ever happen again."

"I can't do that. She's happy with Zach."

Anna sighed, resolving not to contradict that, even though she knew better. "Just think about it, okay Seth? When you and Summer are together, even if you've got Alex on your arm, and Zach has his arms around her, it seems crazy that you two aren't a couple." When Seth didn't say anything, she continued. "You guys love each other. You just have to forgive each other, but she's not truly going to forgive you until you know how much you hurt her. And vice versa."

A look of fear crossed Seth's face, but it was soon replaced by determination. "I'll go talk to her tomorrow. It'll probably be a nightmare with the rage blackouts, but her friendship is worth it."


	9. Just Friends

Lindsay and Ryan sat on the bed in the pool house, both trying to forget about all the chaos that surrounded their relationship. "Why does this have to be so complicated?" Lindsay sighed with frustration.

His hand came up to her face and brushed her hair aside. "Maybe," Ryan started, leaning close to her and gently placing a kiss on her neck, "It doesn't."

She thought for a moment as Ryan continued kissing her neck and her face. "You're right. I mean, it might be a little weird for Caleb and Kirsten, but-"

"Who cares about Caleb?" Ryan interjected, pulling back just long enough to get the words out.

"Exactly, and Kirsten-"

"She'll understand."

"Right." He stopped kissing her and sat up to face her. She stared into his eyes for several moments, and decided they were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. She kissed him, slowly at first, but with building passion. His hand went behind her head, pulling her even closer to him, but his body was craving more contact. He pulled her down on the bed beside him, draping one leg over her so he was partially on top of her.

The feel of his hard body pressing into her was heavenly. He fought the urge to act out one of the Lindsay Fantasies he'd been entertaining since he spilled his cold beverage on her white shirt. Her tongue brushed over his lower lip and he opened his mouth, coaxing her deeper into the kiss. She shifted so that she was on top of him. His hands moved up and down her back, sending tingles throughout her entire body. She softly whimpered into his mouth when his hands gripped her ass, trying to pull her even closer. He flipped her onto her back and skillfully moved his body and his lips against hers. She leaned into him and his lips came away from hers to send jolts of pleasure through her body by kissing the pulse point on her neck. "Ryan," she whispered, hardly able to speak.

"Mmm?" he asked, not moving his lips from her skin.

Her hands ran through his hair, guiding his head a little lower. "Someone could walk in here…"

He groaned into her mouth as he tried to shake off his conflicting feelings. Part of him said, _Who cares? This feels too good to be wrong, _while his logic told him that if he didn't stop things could get out of control and someone may come looking for him. He quickly pulled back. "You're right. We can't do this here, now. Let's go rejoin the party."

She looked at Ryan's messed up hair and rumpled clothes and giggled. "Maybe we should straighten up first. Your hair…" She ran her fingers through it, pressing it flat and straightening it out. He watched her carefully as she did this, reveling in the simple pleasure of it that he didn't really understand. "There. Do you have a comb or a brush I could borrow?"

"Yeah." He jogged to the bathroom and returned with a brush in his hand. She quickly ran it through her hair, ridding it of its ravished look.

With one last kiss, they headed out to face the rest of their crazy family.

* * *

"Summer, we need to talk."

"Sure Zach, what's up?"

"Could we maybe go somewhere a little more private?"

"Pool house?"

"Do you think it's empty?"

"Ryan and Lindsay just came back from there, so I'm sure it is."

He followed her into the pool house, and when the door clicked shut, Zach panicked. He really didn't want to do this, but he knew it was the right thing to do. "Summer, you know I really like you." Her big brown eyes looked at him with question as she nodded. "But I think we should just be friends."

"Why? Zach, what's going on?" She touched his arm gently and he backed away, not wanting to look her in the eye.

"You're in love with Cohen," he stated gently. She tried to protest, but he stopped her. "It's okay. I understand, and I'm not angry about it. I know you didn't plan or want to fall in love with him again. But plans change and sometimes, no matter how hard you fight it, you can't stop yourself from falling in love. I know you like me, but you'll never love me because you're in love with Cohen. I want us to make a clean break now so we can be friends, because I think you're an amazing girl."

Summer looked away from him, realizing that it wasn't fair to Zach for her to be in a relationship with him when her heart belonged to someone else. Even if she didn't want her heart to belong to that someone else. He was right. "I'd really like it if we could be friends too," she relented, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zach held his arms out to her, and she quickly embraced him, amazed at how great he'd been to her.

"Thanks," she squeaked.

"No problem. I'm always here for you, okay?" She smiled up at him through tear filled eyes and nodded. "But give me a few weeks before talking to me about your Cohen problems, okay?"

She pulled back from their embrace and laughed softly. "Okay."

* * *

"Alex, where have you been?"

"Just mingling."

Seth politely waved at Marissa then pulled Alex off to the side. "Okay, because it kind of seems like you're avoiding me."

"Please, you've been talking to Summer half the night," she guessed, figuring it was more likely than not. Truthfully, she and Marissa had really hit it off and she wanted to get to know her. Marissa understood things that Seth couldn't, and when Alex looked at her, she saw herself a few years ago: defiant, lost, confused, and alone. She knew she couldn't tell Seth all of that. He didn't even know that she'd been with a girl before.

Seth was beginning to get angry. "Actually, Alex, I haven't. No more than I've been talking to Zach, Anna, Ryan, and Lindsay. She's my friend. But you're my girlfriend and I've hardly seen you tonight."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Girlfriend?" Alex was suddenly paying attention and she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Seth felt like he'd just received a swift blow to the gut. "Well yeah, I thought-"

"Look Seth," she stopped him before he could make things worse. "I like you and you're a really nice guy, but-"

"Okay, could you please stop calling me nice?" The word was beginning to have the same effect as nails on a chalk board.

Alex sighed. "I think we should just be friends."

Seth just stared at her for a moment. "Okay," he replied, and after flashing her the best fake smile he could, he turned and walked away.

* * *

Luke, Marissa, Zach, Summer, Ryan, and Lindsay were gathered near the entry way talking about their college applications when DJ came in. He immediately went to Marissa. "I brought a friend with me. I hope that's okay. He's had a bad year and his parents are out of town, and basically he doesn't have anyone."

Marissa looked to Ryan, who nodded. "Sure."

The boy appeared in the doorway with a bright smile on his face. Marissa stepped back away from DJ, and moved to huddle beside Luke. Luke and Ryan were suddenly filled with rage. Instinctively, Ryan stepped in front of Lindsay and she held his arm in restraint. Judging by the look on his face and the tension she felt in his body, it seemed like he was ready to attack at any second. She'd never seen him look like that before and it was scaring her. Summer moved closer to Zach, but maintained her 'don't mess with me' attitude. Zach, Lindsay and DJ were confused but quite worried by the situation, as they waited for someone to say something.

Marissa clung to Luke, but turned to speak to DJ. "How do you know him?" Alex had just entered the room and was watching the whole scene with confusion.

"You guys all know him?" DJ asked. Marissa nodded coldly. "He's my half brother. Mr. Trask had a relationship with my mom bore he married Mrs. Trask."

Marissa looked doubtful. "And when did you guys figure this out?"

"It was pretty early this summer, not long after I started working for the Nichols."

Oliver smirked taking a few steps toward Marissa. "My dad didn't tell me he had another son until last May."

Alex didn't know whether to be scared or laugh. "Illegitimate half siblings seem to be pretty common around here."

Ryan grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her to him, then whispered to her and Lindsay, "Get out of here, and tell Sandy or Jimmy that Oliver's here."

Zach started to lead Summer away from the room as well. "I can't leave Coop right now, but it might be for the best if you got out of here." Zach refused and remained beside Summer.

Oliver looked at Marissa and smiled genuinely. "I haven't seen you in so long." He walked towards her but Luke stepped between them.

Marissa's head was telling her to run, but that was overruled by the compassion she felt. "Luke, it's okay." She stepped out from behind him and forced herself to return Oliver's hug, cringing as she did so.

"So Marissa, it looks like we'll be spending New Years Eve together again!" he exclaimed excitedly. He showed no signs of remembering what had happened nearly a year ago in the penthouse. He looked towards Ryan like he hadn't noticed he was there before. "Ryan! Long time, no see buddy!" He held out his hand, but Ryan only glared at him. "Okay, social skills still need some improvement I see. Come on Marissa, we've got lots to catch up on." He threw his arm around her shoulders and began pulling her away from the group.

She panicked. "Oliver, stop!" She twisted herself out of his grasp.

Oliver looked at her as if he didn't understand why she'd done that. Maybe he really didn't. "Marissa, I thought you said we'd always be friends."

His words brought back the horrific night and she cried softly. Not knowing what else to do, she turned and walked away as quickly as she could, but he tried to stop her.

"Marissa-"

She ran out to the pool house, which she'd always considered a refuge. Suddenly Luke and Ryan were standing in front of Oliver. Lindsay and Alex returned with Jimmy who looked horrified at this boy's presence. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I just wanted to come see everyone. You know, apologize for what happened and show them that I'm better now."

Jimmy and Luke's expressions softened a little bit as they considered this, but Ryan saw the familiar gleam in his eyes. "Get out. Now."

"Ryan, what's your problem? I just want to talk to her."

"Clearly she doesn't want to hear anything you have to say. Get. Out."

Oliver sighed and spoke to Ryan as if her were a disobedient child. "Why do you keep trying to fight me?"

Ryan was desperately trying to hold onto his temper. He didn't want to do anything that might take him away from the Cohens, but he'd dreamed of beating Oliver senseless so many times. Sandy entered the room, his eyes landing first on a seething Ryan and then on the source of his anger. "Get the hell out of my house."

"Mr. Cohen, I just-"

"Get out now, or I'll call the cops."

Finally giving up, Oliver walked out the front door and DJ followed him wondering what had happened. "Okay, I've got a few questions for you." Oliver ignored him and looked back and saw Marissa's silhouette in the pool house.

"Later. I have to talk to her."

"You're not going anywhere near her."

Oliver laughed and pulled his gun from inside his jacket. "And just how do you plan to stop me?"

"Let's just talk about this. We're brothers, we're here for each other."

Oliver looked down and laughed bitterly. He almost confessed that they really weren't brothers and that he'd just made that up to get to Marissa. But instead of saying anything, he walked away, keeping the gun pointed towards DJ. Resigning the fact that he was powerless, DJ pulled away in his truck. His mild obsession with Marissa was extinguished by the fear of his brother. He didn't have any idea what would happen, but he knew that if he wasn't there, it couldn't be his fault.


	10. Confrontation

Marissa sat on Ryan's bed, crying softly. After about five minutes, she heard the door slowly open. She looked up and when she managed to see through her tears, she was petrified. Oliver quickly shut the door behind him and went to Marissa's side, assuring her that everything was okay. "Marissa, I'm better now! That time in the hospital helped me to see what I need to do to change, and I'm doing it."

"That's good, but what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you and tell you I'm really sorry for what happened."

"You're sorry? Well that's great. I mean, you just manipulated me into breaking up with a guy who was the best thing that ever happened to me. But hey, as long as you're sorry..."

"You guys didn't get back together?" Oliver tried not to sound too happy about it. "I mean, he just seemed like you couldn't keep him away if you tried."

"Not exactly. But we did get back together. Unfortunately, before we did, he got back together with his ex-girlfriend from Chino and possibly got her pregnant, so he went to Chino with her to father the baby."

"He's back now, though," Oliver questioned.

Marissa laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well..." she started, looking at her feet before raising her eyes to meet Oliver's, "He found out I was with DJ." _Wait, why am I telling him any of this?_

"I'm so sorry, Marissa. I wish I could somehow make it up to you."

His feeble attempts at being nice were making her even angrier. "You really want to make it up to me?" she nearly shouted.

"Of course."

"Then leave. And don't ever come back here or try to contact me again."

"Riss, you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. Please, just go."

He pulled the gun out of his pocket and examined it before putting it back. "I can't do that."

* * *

Julie stepped up behind Caleb where he was talking to Hailey, with Kirsten and Lindsay standing close by. "Cal, it must be nice to finally have all your daughters here together."

"Julie," Kirsten warned, not wanting to have another scene.

"What? I'm just saying it's about time that you, Hailey and Lindsay all got to have some 'sister bonding' time."

Hailey looked to Kirsten, who only averted her eyes sadly. Then she looked at Caleb. He looked like he wanted to fall off the face of the earth at that moment. "Sister?" She looked at Lindsay in confusion. "I thought you were Ryan's girlfriend."

"I am," she confirmed, causing both Kirsten and Caleb's heads to snap towards her. Her was voice shaking. "But..." She trailed off and looked at Caleb, deciding that he should be the one to say it.

Hailey turned to her father, searching his face for answers. "Dad?" He couldn't seem to form words. "Start talking, Dad!"

"Sixteen years ago, I did something I shouldn't have. It almost destroyed my relationship with your mother."

"You cheated on Mom!" she screamed.

"It was a mistake and-"

"Wait, did you say sixteen years ago?" Hailey did the math and looked at her father in complete disgust. "Isn't that when Mom started her first round of chemo?"

Caleb looked even more ashamed, if that was possible. "Hailey, I'm so-"

"Get away from me."

He stepped towards her, intending to beg for forgiveness, but she slapped him across the face before he could say anything. She walked away feeling quite numb before he had processed what happened.

Kirsten gave Lindsay a reassuring hug. "I'll go talk to her. We'll get through this. She'll come around."

"Kiki, tell her-"

"I was talking to Lindsay," Kirsten stated flatly. Her sisters were her only concern in this situation. She trudged up the stairs to console Hailey, and Lindsay left to find Ryan.

* * *

Lindsay snuck up behind Ryan, who seemed to be engrossed in a collage of pictures that Kirsten had put up in the living room. She intertwined her fingers with his. She rose up on her toes and kissed his neck. He turned in her arms and pulled her to him tightly.

"What happened back there?" she asked somewhat timidly.

"It was noth-"

"Ryan, come on," Lindsay demanded. "You don't have to tell me, but please don't lie to me."

He smiled at her, but his eyes were sad. "He fell in love with Marissa last year, before she and I broke up. It's a long story, but he's got some serious issues and he wound up holding her hostage in the penthouse."

Lindsay didn't know what she had been expecting, but that definitely wasn't it. He looked like he'd seen a ghost and she wanted to take that feeling away any way she could. "Hey, it's almost midnight. Do you want to ring in the new year here or should we go out to the-"

He grinned widely and took her hand. "Pool house."

* * *

Marissa prayed for a miracle. There were lots of people outside, but they were all oblivious to what was going on inside the pool house. She desperately hoped that someone would barge in. _Sure, when I was in here alone with I wanted to spend time with boyfriend, it never failed that someone would walk in, but now that I'm here with Oliver…_He toyed with the lock on the door, and assuming it was locked he stepped back towards Marissa. What he didn't know was that the lock didn't work.

The door swung open and Lindsay appeared in the doorway, nearly stumbling backwards as Ryan kissed her. Both were so lost in each other that at first they didn't see Marissa and Oliver. "I think...you're even better...at chemistry...than you are...at physics," Ryan whispered to her between kisses.

After what seemed like an eternity to Marissa, Ryan's eyelids fluttered open and he noticed the pair. Lindsay had her back to them and when she saw Ryan's expression she turned around meeting Oliver's gaze. "Ryan, I see you have a new lady friend." His eyes traveled up and down her body and she suddenly felt extremely nauseous and nervous. Ryan stepped in front of her, whispering to Lindsay to leave, go get Luke and/or Sandy, and not come back. She hesitated for a moment, but followed his instructions.

_Great, here we go again. _"Sandy told you to leave." Ryan's eyes darted over to Marissa, trying to read her face.

"Didn't he tell you to leave too, after he found out you knocked up that skank from Chino?"

Ryan glared at Marissa, who only looked at him with pleading eyes. Putting aside every instinct that was telling him to beat the shit out of Oliver, he tried to reason with him. As much as you can reason with someone who's completely insane. "What are you doing here?"

Oliver's mouth twisted into that creepy grin that Ryan loathed. "I just wanted to see how Marissa was doing. I mean, she says you left her when you got your ex pregnant. That must have been pretty hard on her."

Subconsciously, he cracked his knuckles. "It was hard for both of us, but we moved on."

"Then why are you still here? Does your girlfriend know you're still in love with Marissa?"

Ryan decided not to dignify that statement with a response, and Marissa took this as her cue to jump in. "Oliver, please," she pleaded. "Just leave."

"Riss, baby, you don't mean that." He kneeled beside her and she backed away, dreading what would happen if he decided to pull out his gun.

The door opened again, causing Oliver to jump. He pulled out the gun and pointed it at the unsuspecting boy in the doorway. Ryan's eyes widened and he kicked himself for not having thought of that before. "Put the gun down, man."

Luke boldly stepped into the room and Oliver cocked the gun. "Why would I want to do that?"

Ryan and Luke communicated with their eyes as Marissa looked on fearfully. Considering the potential consequences of the situation, she made a decision. She reached out and gently touched Oliver's arm. "Don't. I'll go with you."

"Marissa!" Luke objected, but after Marissa shot him a look, he backed off.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand and heading to the door. "But you don't have a permit for this gun, do you? These guys will probably call the cops as soon as we leave, so you better leave it here."

Oliver laughed. "You must think I'm a complete idiot, Marissa."

_I don't think you're an idiot, I was just hoping you were deranged enough to believe that. _"No, I don't..." She didn't really know what to say that he would believe. Before she could think about what she was doing, she leaned forward and kissed him.

He went to wrap his arms around her, but when the barrel of the gun tapped against her back, he was pulled back to reality. Just before he became aware of his situation, Luke tackled him to the floor and the force of the blow caused the gun to fly out of Oliver's hand. Luke grabbed the gun and quickly walked to the house to call 911. He knew that if Oliver didn't have a weapon, Ryan could easily handle him.

Knowing he was defeated, Oliver turned to leave. "Oh, so now you're suddenly so eager to leave."

"Do you want to hit me again? Just get it over with."

"Nah, I'm not going to hit you. I think that knowing that your own brother was the one to fix the mess you caused in Marissa's life probably hits you in the face every day."

Oliver's face turned white as a sheet at the idea of Marissa being with someone else, even if it wasn't really his brother. A long silence passed and Ryan just continued to stare at Oliver like he wanted to break his neck. Nervously, Oliver spoke up. "I'm gonna go."

Ryan smiled in such a way that Oliver couldn't tell if it was a threat or a peace offering. "Good idea."

He dashed to the door, only to run into a police officer. "Oliver Trask, you're under arrest."

Marissa watched as the cops pushed Oliver into the back seat of the car and drove away. Two strong arms wrapped around her from behind. "You okay?"

His familiar scent brought a smile to her face. "Yeah. Thanks, Luke."

"After everything I've put you through, it was the least I could do."

* * *

The moment Oliver was taken from the pool house, Lindsay ran inside, hugging Ryan tightly. "Are you okay? What happened in here?"

"Pretty much the same thing that happened last year." Lindsay didn't know how to respond, so Ryan took it upon himself. "How about we pick up where we left off?" He suggested, leaning into kiss her.

"Mmm," she moaned against his lips. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

"Hailey?"

Kirsten wasn't surprised when she was met with a hostile response. "What?"

"Can I come in?"

"It's your house."

Kirsten opened the door and walked over to where Hailey was sitting in the corner of the room. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? You aren't the one that cheated on Mom while she was sick."

"I know, but I'm sorry that you have to go through this, and I'm sorry you found out like that."

"Well, I can thank Julie Cooper for the last part. Dad deserves that bitch."

Kirsten nodded, her eyes tearing up as Hailey's did.

"How long have you known?"

"A week. It was on Chrismukkah."

"Wow, could he have picked a worse time?"

Kirsten laughed, shaking her head sadly. "I don't think so." Hailey just sat and continued to cry, and Kirsten sat beside her, leaning her head on her shoulder. "But on the up side, I got to spend Christmas with our sister this year."

"Sister? That's so weird."

"Yeah, I had a really hard time with it at first too, but I hope you'll give Lindsay a chance."

For a moment, Hailey looked offended at the mere suggestion, but then she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Just...not yet."

Kirsten smiled and hugged Hailey tighter. "Okay."

* * *

**Note:** He's gone and I promise he won't be coming back. I've just always wanted to see Ryan mess with his mind a little. Now it's out of my system. 


	11. Falling Apart

**Note:** I don't own the show, the characters, the lines, etc. The next chapter will probably be the last one, but I plan on doing a sequel to follow up with some of the characters. Thank you so much for the reviews!

* * *

Alex saw Marissa sitting in the kitchen, holding a small clear bottle, and watched as she emptied it into a glass of iced tea.

"Marissa?"

She whirled around, quickly shoving the empty bottle back into her purse. She relaxed some when she saw that it was Alex. "Hey."

"Rough night?"

"Rough life." Marissa moaned, feeling depressed.

Alex gave her a disbelieving look. "Right. It's not easy being a princess. Living in a palace."

Marissa stared at Alex with frustration. "You think that just because my step-dad is the richest man in Newport my life is easy?" she challenged. Alex's only reply was raising her eyebrows. "In the last year and a half, my dad went bankrupt, my parents got divorced, I caught my boyfriend cheating on me with one of my best friends, I ODed in Mexico, I got stalked by a psycho, I lost Ryan to his pregnant ex-girlfriend, my mom married Caleb Nichol, my little sister was sent off to boarding school, Caleb blackmailed me into living with him and my mom instead of my dad, and now my dad, the one thing keeping me sane, moved to Maui. And the psycho returned."

Alex didn't know what to say. "I didn't think-"

"No, you didn't think," Marissa interrupted. With one last glare, Marissa turned and walked away. Alex was about to go after her when she was stopped by Summer.

"Alex!"

She gritted her teeth and turned to the other Newport princess. "Yes?"

Summer didn't miss the annoyance in Alex's voice and it just about pushed her over the edge. "Where's Seth?"

"I figured he was with you."

Summer crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "Well he isn't. Where did you last see him?"

"I saw him go upstairs, but that was like an hour ago."

"Thanks." Summer stomped off and Alex wondered what Seth had done to piss her off like that.

* * *

Zach was sitting by himself. He knew he'd done the right thing, but that didn't mean he liked it. Summer had gone after Seth, like he knew she would.

"You looked like you could use some company."

Zach looked up to see Anna standing in front of him. "Anna, hey."

She sat down beside him. "What's with the long face?"

"Summer and I broke up."

Anna silently cheered, but her heart went out to Zach. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I know how you feel."

"Huh?"

"A triangle is an unfriendly shape. Especially when you're in it with Seth and Summer...which I was, a year ago."

Zach smiled genuinely. "Really? You and Cohen?"

"We had a lot in common. We both love reading comic books, and we like the same music, but there just wasn't any chemistry."

"You like comic books?"

* * *

When Hailey came down the stairs, her eyes were slightly puffy, but she had calmed down some. She found Jimmy took his hand, putting on the brightest smile she could manage.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smirked as she added, "But Dad might not be if he comes anywhere near me."

Jimmy gave her a quick kiss and when he looked up, he saw Caleb and Julie walking towards them. He gave Caleb a look that clearly said 'get the hell out of here,' but he pretended not to notice. "Hailey," he started, gently touching her arm.

She pulled away from him and whirled around to face him. "Don't touch me."

"I know that what I did was inexcusable, but I hope that one day you'll forgive me. You're my baby." Tears welled up in his eyes and for a moment, Hailey's heart softened. "And I love you so much."

Julie looked at Hailey like a tiger ready to pounce. "Actually, Lindsay's the youngest, so she's your baby girl, Cal."

"Juju!" he warned.

Marissa appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Hey Dad, can I-" She stopped as she realized she had just interrupted a really tense moment. She stepped back and as quickly as she appeared, Julie forgot she was there.

Hailey was on the verge of tears and Julie loved it. "Don't worry, Sweetie. You're still your mother's baby girl, may she rest in peace. At least she didn't have to be here to find out that her husband had an affair while she was lying in a hospital bed."

The mention of her mother pushed Hailey over the edge. She threw her glass of wine onto Caleb's white tuxedo and threw the glass against the wall. "You son of a _bitch_!" she screamed. She lunged at him while Jimmy tried to hold her back.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Cal."

He was about to respond, but Marissa beat him to the punch. "Please. It's not like you've never cheated on one of your husbands."

Caleb looked away from his daughter and to his wife. "You're mad that I cheated on my wife, when you did the same thing to Jimmy?"

"Of course not," Marissa replied. "Dad wasn't the one she cheated on."

Caleb's eyes widened. "Is this true?"

"You cheated on my dad," Hailey stated with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Cal. It's just that Jimmy and I-"

"Jimmy?" Caleb and Hailey asked together, turning to look at him.

He looked like a deer caught in headlights as Hailey turned and walked away from him. "Hailey, wait! Let me explain."

* * *

Seth was lying on his bed, being consoled by Captain Oats. "I think you're right. Alex and I just aren't meant to be." There was a forceful knock on his door. "I'll be down in a minute," he called, hoping to deter anyone from coming in and talking to him.

He jumped when the door flew open and Summer stormed in. "What are you doing in here?" she demanded with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"I didn't really feel like being at a party right now."

"Well _Alex _is probably looking for you."

Seth didn't even try to hide the bitterness in his voice. "I doubt it. She dumped me. Why aren't you down there with Zach?"

Seeing the pain in his eyes made it harder for her stay mad at him. "Zach and I aren't together anymore."

Seth quickly sat up. "What? Why? What happened?"

"What do you think?" She paused, half expecting him to make some sarcastic remark, but his expression remained blank. "You happened, you idiot!"

"What did I do?"

"You made me fall in love with you and then you left! That's what you did!" _Oh I did _not _just say I fell in love with him...did I?_

Now Seth's mind was spinning. "What does that have to do with you and Zach?"

He hadn't pulled her close and told her he loved her too, he just stood towering in front of her. She sighed sadly. "Forget it."

She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. "Wait." This time his eyes were pleading. When he saw the tears running down her cheeks, he went to wipe them away, but she swatted at his hand.

"Just tell me why, Seth," she requested softly.

"Why what?" He couldn't seem to follow what she was saying at all. He couldn't even follow his own thought process, so understanding her's was out of the question.

"Why you just left like that last summer."

"I left because I didn't want to go back to life in Newport without Ryan."

"So Ryan is the only one here you actually care about?" She stepped back, angrily crossing her arms over her chest.

"No. Ryan is the only one who cares about me."

"You think that no one in Newport, besides Ryan cared about you?"

He shrugged. "My parents. Maybe my grandpa...maybe."

"After everything we went through last year, how could you think that?"

"I've known you since kindergarten. That's about 12 years. You've ignored me for 11 of those years. When Ryan came, I became a whole new person, and you liked him. Not me."

"I did like you. He _is _you! Ryan didn't change you he just gave you the confidence to be who you were all along!"

Seth didn't want to admit it, but he knew she was right. "Yeah, well, you must not have liked me very much if you moved on right after I left."

At this point, Summer was beyond angry. "You think I hooked up with Zach because I didn't really like you?" She shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. "I hooked up with Zach so that I could stop thinking about you. So that maybe I could get over you and fall in love with someone else."

"So you love him."

"No, you jackass! I wish I did, but unfortunately, I'm stuck loving you!" Once the words were out, Summer wanted to take them back. She hadn't meant to be this honest with him or even with herself.

Seth studied her. "It's not exactly a picnic loving you either."

* * *

Journey's _Faithfully_ played softly on the speakers of Ryan's stereo as he and Lindsay were quietly lying together. Her head rested on his shoulder and her fingers traced circles on his chest. Ryan watched her with a content smile on his face.

"This year has been crazy," she muttered softly.

Chuckling softly, Ryan nodded in agreement. "But it's been good."

She looked up at him adoringly and nodded. "Where do you think we'll be a year from now?"

"You'll be at Yale," he stated firmly, trying not to sound upset. "And I'll be wherever I can get a scholarship."

She wondered how she had managed to forget that they would be going their separate ways next fall. "Where do you _want_ to go?"

He shrugged. "I guess I haven't really thought about it."

"Where did you apply?"

"UCLA...Berkeley...Cal State...Duke...NYU...Texas...and a few others that Seth insisted I apply to. Did you apply anywhere besides Yale?"

"Yeah, some schools around here." They sat in silence for a few moments. They hadn't been together long enough to consider changing their plans for each other, had they? She'd go to Yale, he'd go wherever, and they'd see each other at Christmas, because she was part of his family.

"We're here now," Ryan whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "Oh! I almost forgot." He rolled off to the bed and walked over the kitchen. He opened up the refrigerator and pulled out a tall bottle, smiling widely.

"Ryan Atwood, are you going to try to get me drunk?" she teased, walking to the counter as he pulled out two wineglasses.

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "Maybe." He turned the bottle to face her and pointed at the label.

"Sparkling grape juice. Nice."

He poured the glasses and passed one to her. They raised them together. "To being more than lab partners," Ryan toasted.

"And definitely not related."

They clinked their glasses and each took a sip. Ryan walked around the counter and sat back down on the bed. Lindsay wasn't sure if it was the grape juice or the way Ryan was looking at her, but suddenly her knees felt extremely weak. She carefully set the glass back on the counter and managed to walk to him. His hands each rested on her waist for a moment before roaming and testing the feel of her feminine curves. At first she tensed at his touch, but soon she relaxed against his hands. He kept his eyes locked on hers and she was finding it very difficult to move.

After a moment that seemed to go on for hours, she decided to take control of the situation. She pushed his shoulders back so he was lying down on the bed, then kneeled above him, as her fingers nimbly undoing the buttons on his shirt. She kissed him slowly and deliberately, running her hands over his body as a small gasp escaped his lips. "Objects in motion-"

"Stay in motion," he finished.

Anna opened the door and gasped at what she saw before shutting the door again. "Zach, I thought you said they were in the house!"

"They were!"

Anna reopened the door, this time shielding her eyes with her hand. "Ryan, you should really start locking this door!"

Keeping his eyes tightly shut, Zach added, "Sorry."

After the door closed Ryan and Lindsay looked at each other, both frustrated and embarrassed. "Until acted on by an outside force," they said together.

* * *

Hailey stood away from Jimmy with her arms crossed over her chest. "Let me guess. You were going to tell me that you're having an affair with her, but it just slipped your mind."

"No, it's over. It ended yesterday morning before you came."

"Yesterday? So you slept with me and Julie Cooper within two days?"

Jimmy ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "It was a huge mistake." He stepped forward and took her hand. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away. "After you left, I was a mess. I don't know how things got to the point they did with Julie, but I do know that you're the one I want to be with for the rest of my life."


	12. At Midnight

**Note:** Sorry it took me so long to get this last chapter done. I really suck at writing conclusions. It's seriously ridiculous. I'm planning on writing another story picking up about where this one left off with Ryan and Lindsay as the focus. Thanks to all of you who read this, and especially those who reviewed!

* * *

Jimmy's thumb stroked the back of Hailey's hand. "For months after you left, I lied awake every night, wishing that you would come back." His eyes searched hers, but she wasn't giving anything away. "Now that you have...please don't ruin it just because I've been an idiot."

"I missed you too," she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "But Julie Cooper?"

"I know," he sighed looking at the floor.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in Japan," she replied coldly.

"Or maybe you shouldn't have left in the first place."

Hailey stared into Jimmy's eyes, considering this. After a moment, she leaned in and kissed him. "It's good to be home."

* * *

Marissa spotted Luke and Alex talking in the next room. Well, Luke was talking. Alex was trying to listen but her gaze was darting around the room. When her eyes landed on Marissa, she smiled, and Marissa felt herself blush with embarrassment for the way she'd snapped at Alex earlier. She hesitated, but when Alex waved her over, she found herself beside her within a few seconds.

"Hey," Alex muttered as Luke continued to ramble, "I'm really sorry about before."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's really okay."

Marissa smiled back at her shyly, then forced her eyes away from the beautiful girl. "Hey Luke."

"Hey, how are you?" He asked her for the seventh time since Oliver had been taken away in handcuffs.

"I'm fine," she affirmed flatly. Alex took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "He's gone now and I don't think he'll be coming back." When she felt Alex's hand, a feeling of apprehensivenessoverwhelmed her. She and Summer had made the same gesture towards each other countless times, but this felt different, and she couldn't figure out why. "So, Alex, where's Seth?"

Alex didn't miss the glint of hope in Marissa's eyes and she tried to hide her smile. "He and I sort of broke up."

"Really? What happened?"

With a shrug Alex replied, "We're just better off as friends."

Marissa nodded, a small smile creeping onto her lips. She tried to tell herself that she was happy for Summer because now she and Seth would most likely get back together, but she knew that wasn't the reason she was smiling.

* * *

"You had an affair with Jimmy?"

"I know, Cal, I'm sorry. It meant nothing. I was just so upset because I thought you were going to jail and it was a huge mistake."

"You're right about that," he snapped, turning to walk away from her.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Cal."

"Why the hell not?" he demanded angrily.

"Maybe you've forgotten that I'm the CEO of the Newport Group, your claim to fortune. Without that, you're nothing."

"You're unbelievable."

"How so? Manipulative? Ruthless?" Caleb only glared at her, but she smiled. "Isn't that why you married me?"

* * *

Summer sat down on Seth's bed beside him. "You really thought I would leave you when Ryan left?"

Seth shrugged, because truthfully, he didn't know what he was thinking. "I freaked out. Ryan is not just my brother, he's also my best friend, and the thought of losing him was more than I could take. Being in Newport would have been a constant reminder of the fact that he's gone. I just wanted to get away for awhile. Spend some time just thinking. I never planned to be gone for that long."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"Well, aside from Ryan, you were all I had. And you weren't answering my phone calls, so I didn't think you'd want to see me at all. Newport without Ryan _and _without you...I knew I couldn't handle that."

"I was so angry," she said gently. Seth's eyes widened and he nodded. "But I wanted you to come back. I wanted you to come back so I could scream at you for all the pain you caused me, not to mention your family, and I wanted you to yell at me for the way I treated you before we got together, and then once we'd both gotten out everything we were holding against each other, I..." She trailed off and looked down, studying the floor.

He touched her arm lightly. "What?"

"I thought we would just make up and go back to the way we were."

"But..."

"But then you didn't come back, I started dating Zach, and I realized that I was so tired of waiting for you."

"Summer, I'm so sorry I made such a mess of things."

Tears glossed over her eyes. "I don't know what to do now." She leaned her head on his shoulder and he rubbed her back as she sobbed.

He looked at her like she was the most precious being on the face of the earth. "What do you want?"

"You." Her reply came so quickly that even she was surprised by it. "But I don't know if that's a good idea."

Seth looked over at the clock. Thirty seconds until midnight. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"I promise. And I don't think either of us wants to ring in the new year with tears." He brushed the tears off of her cheeks and waited for her sobs to cease. "I love you, Summer."

"Cohen..." she started, but she was cut off by his lips. They gently brushed against hers and when she didn't pull away, he slid his tongue into her mouth and her hands ran through his curly hair.

She shoved him onto his back and he smiled back at her. "Happy New Year."

Settling on top of him, she kissed again and she found the familiarity of it as exciting as it was comforting. "I...I love you too, Cohen."

* * *

"Well, that was awkward," Lindsay stated as Ryan put his shirt back on.

"Yeah, but at least it was just Anna. Not Kirsten, or Caleb, or anyone else we're related to."

"True." They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a moment, before Lindsay spoke up again. "I think I may have told Kirsten about us."

"What?" Ryan bolted up from where he was lying on his bed and his eyes widened. "You _think_ you did?"

"Well, Julie told Hailey that I was her sister, and then Hailey said that she thought I was your girlfriend, and I wasn't thinking, I just told her that I was. And Kirsten and Caleb were both there."

Ryan sighed and futily attempted to hide his worry. "What did they say?"

"With Hailey's yelling, they couldn't really say anything."

Ryan chuckled. He'd seen Hailey angry a few times and he found it somewhat frightening. "Did Caleb survive her wrath?"

Lindsay smiled, leaning back into Ryan's arms. "So far. Are things always this crazy around here?"

"I'm afraid so," he replied, trying to reassure her with his smile, "but it's always interesting."

"Was your family as crazy as this one?" she asked timidly. Her knowledge about Ryan's past was very limited, and she wanted to get to know him, and really _know _him.

Ryan's tone was detached, but his eyes revealed what he was thinking. "It was really different and not at all stable, but I guess it was more predictable. My dad was, and still is, in prison, my mom was always drunk and she usually had a boyfriend who would hit her and/or me, and my brother Trey was always in trouble. He's in prison now, too."

Lindsay didn't know what to say and she didn't want to make him think she pitied him. "Do you keep in touch with any of them?"

"I hear from my mom every now and then. She seems to be doing a little better. I haven't talked to Trey in over a year, and I can hardly remember the last time I spoke with my dad." He looked at Lindsay and stated, "I really think of Sandy as my dad. And Seth as my brother."

"What about Kirsten?"

"Last year it was hard to see her as my mother because I was still very much Dawn Atwood's son. But now that I've really left Chino behind...it's becoming more and more like she's really my mother, not just the woman I wish was my mother." For a moment neither of them said anything and Ryan took this opportunity to take the attention off of him. "So how are things going with you and Kirsten?"

"Good," she replied a little too quickly. "I still can't believe I have a sister..." she trailed off, connecting what Ryan had just said with what she had just said.

Ryan laughed. "They say that a guy looks for a girl who's similar to his mother. And since Kirsten and I aren't genetically related, it's not illegal or anything."

"Yeah. They also say a girl looks for a guy like her father." Ryan's eyes widened and he shuttered. "But since he wasn't my father until last week, I don't think that counts."

Ryan smiled with relief. "Good."

Lindsay stood from the bed and peeked out the window of the pool house. "Ryan?"

"Hmm?" He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.

"Everyone's inside."

He stopped kissing her. "Oh, do you want to-"

She turned around, placing her hand on his chest. "Stay right here. With you. Away from the insanity."

"Last year, Hailey locked me and Seth in here and apparently Seth is claustrophobic. He freaked out."

"He freaked out in here? This place is huge!"

Ryan laughed. "That's what I said, but you know Seth."

"Yeah...maybe someone will lock us in here." She leaned into him, pressing the full length of her body against him.

"That might be cool." Ryan tried not to react to her words and the way she was touching him, because he thought that if she knew what he was thinking, she'd be running away.

Lindsay couldn't help but laugh at Ryan's sudden nervousness. He was deliberately being unpresumptuous, so she figured she might as well go along with it. Things would happen when the time was right. "Okay." She looked up the clock and noticed it was well past midnight. "Happy New Year!"

Ryan turned and looked at the clock. "Happy New Year."

* * *

Fin! Please review!


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